By Kathleen Neville
NFLPE Consultant
“The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” ~ Richard Grant
For anyone going through some kind of life or career transition, probably one of the most challenging aspects, aside from having to navigate your way through new and unfamiliar territory, is the ever looming question you constantly seem to be asked by yourself and so many others.
Who are you, now?
Your first and probably most honest response to that question might be that you don’t know exactly who you are, right this second, but you are definitely working hard to figure it all out.
Of course, you did know who you were, back when you played football. In fact, when you played in the NFL, the surface answer to the question “Who are you?” was easy. You were an NFL player. Say no more, said the rest of the world, we know exactly who you are.
But that was the external answer, and now, as you spend much more time self-reflecting and thinking about your life and what you want to do with it, you know that your past and playing football is just one wonderful, spectacular part of you. There is so much more to who you are as a man and as a person. In fact, there always has been. Your greatest personal attributes may have been overshadowed by your on-field talents. You now have the opportunity to move them into the light and allow them starting positions in your own brand new game of life.
As you move through your own personal transition from your playing days to what comes next, be assured that what you are going through is experienced by millions of others. Whether it is a CEO cut loose from his company, a young student going off to college for the first time, or a man or woman who is suddenly widowed, almost everyone experiences some sort of identity crisis or better put, identity challenge during a transition. If you are doing it right, it is perfectly normal to find the whole process deeply unsettling and even outright upsetting. You are challenging yourself, right down to your core by pressing yourself to answer that all important question – who are you? It is gut-wrenching for sure, but this type of emotional soul-searching ultimately leads you to where you want – and need to be – next.
In fact, thanks to this private search for answers, your personal growth is about to sky rocket like it never has before. Soon the answer to the big question “who are you” will be revealed in every sensational thing you do.
So, who are you, now? You are the man living life to the fullest. You are the one who uncovered his vast potential and now knows no limits. And, yes, you are someone who will always be counted as one of the most extraordinary athletes in the country; for you are one of the very few to play in the NFL.