One of my all time favorite books is Letters to a Young Poet by Ranier Maria Rilke. It is the greatest book to read when you are going through a transition, seeking answers within yourself, and just trying to find your way.
So when I saw that Chris Bosh wrote a book called Letters to a Young Athlete, I needed it. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to feel inspired.
Early in the book he talks about finding your why. We harp on this all the time in running, and we should also prioritize finding our why in life in general. Your why is some deep ass shit. It is not flimsy. It is heavy and carries weight. It stays with you and is poignant whether things are going well or going terrible. It is your guiding beacon in the night and also when things are bright.
An excerpt from the book:
"Speaking of 90's hip-hop, here's what Nas said about writing Illmatic, one of the albums from that era that did stand the test of time: "It was about bringing you inside my apartment. It wasn't about being a rap star; it was about anything other than. I want you to know who I am: What the streets taste like, feel like, smell like. What the cops talk like, walk like, think like. What crackheads do-I wanted you to smell it, feel it. It was important to me that I told the story that way because I thought that it wouldn't be told if I didn't tell it."
It wouldn't be told if I didn't tell it. The point is, he had a why - the kind of attitude that means it doesn't matter if your story becomes a classic, because it's your story, and you have to tell it.
That's a why - an answer that works whether you're winning or losing."
It is your life, you are the only person who can live it.
You have to show up in your way.
For every goal you set, you have to ask yourself why? Go deeper. And deeper and deeper. It can't be superficial.
Who do you want to be? In your run, in your life, in everything you do.
Because the way you do anything is the way you do everything.
Your why will grow and change, it will evolve as you do. But the one persistent characteristic of your why is that it comes from within. It is part of you.
It is from the deep pit of your soul, that connects you to everything else.
It is bigger than you.
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