I am not sporty.
I must have kicked a soccer ball at some point in my life, but honestly, I can’t think of a single time when that happened. I had to throw a baseball for a TV movie once and the director talked about changing the scene because I looked terribly awkward.
Over the last twenty years, I have tried very hard to care about the sports. I married into a family that loves sports, so back in the days when I was still trying to impress my husband, I studied up on football and baseball and all the other balls. I joined a fantasy football league once to see if I could care when I had $50 riding on it. Negative. I’ve watched live sports from a fancy box to see if that helped, and nope. I like watching Jeremy get psyched up for the sportsing, but for the life of me, I can’t get myself to care in the slightest.
Which is hilarious.
Because I am a person who cares about EVERYTHING WAY TOO MUCH. I want to buy the dented can at the grocery store because I worry no one else will buy it and I don’t want it to feel rejected. I put myself in great physical danger to scoop up turtles who have wandered into the road. Just last week, a stranger posting a puke emoji on Instagram made me cry.
I am made out of almost nothing other than caring.
But I can’t care about sports.
Which is why I was surprised when Jeremy suggested we watch an episode of Quarterback together.
“Isn’t that the kind of show you watch when I’m out of town?” I asked.
“I think you might like this one.” He said.
I begrudgingly watched sporty men do sporty things, and I’m really glad I did. Here’s why:
The show is about three quarterbacks (that’s football!) and their training schedules. Their names are Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota, if you know about these things. Jeremy wanted me to watch it because this episode was all about rest. It was about their routines for recovery and the ways they take care of themselves so they have the best chance of making it through the season in one piece.
They talked about what they do during the week to get ready for Sunday (games are played on Sundays!) and how rest and recovery are not considered a luxury, but rather an essential part of keeping themselves healthy. They take the rest seriously because it’s a significant part of their job.
I was out of town all last week doing speaking events for a couple of different corporations, and when I got home, I was exhausted. I had spoken in front of about 600 people over the last two weeks, giving 3 to 4 hours of presentations a day during the conferences. And even though I was never once slammed to the ground during a presentation, the quarterback’s stories changed how I felt about my own recovery from my work.
Instead of beating myself up for needing to rest, or thinking that I should be better at bouncing back after a big event — I now think about Patrick Mahomes in a cold plunge. (Honestly, that should help everyone feel better.)
So I’m framing my recovery like training now. Sure, I literally never have to run for 50 yards carrying a ball — but just like everyone else, I still deserve to give the best to my life and work by recovering well. It only makes sense that physical and mental practices are needed to get me back into shape for the next thing.
I still don’t care about the sports. But I learned some new phrases and it makes Jeremy laugh when I run around the house yelling about icing the kicker.
Here’s what else has been going on:
Here’s a little video recap of my speaking event last week
Including Pitch Perfect, a hibachi restaurant, and a dog in a bag:
What I’m looking forward to
My Kriaplu workshop is open for registration! Burnout Prevention: How To Thrive In A Challenging World will be an in-person weekend at one of my favorite places ever. I hope you can join me February 23–25, 2024 in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. It’s like a wintery wonderland that time of year - so it feels even more magical than normal. (And it’s all in one building so you can stay in your slippers and just watch it out the window, like this lady!)
What I’m reading
I love this Substack from Sara Benincasa. In this piece, she writes about sobriety, debt, and what happens when you realize that your goals have shifted.
What I’m doing next week
I get to go to Kripalu twice in five months?!?!?
I am super honored that I was chosen to participate in a nonprofit leadership course at Kripalu. I’ll be up there learning how to better run my organization Mission Flexible. I’ll be largely unplugged (retreat centers give you major side-eye for too much tech usage) but I pre-recorded a little video newsletter for you, so you’ll get that next Friday.
New glasses whatcha think?
I’m loving my new progressives! When I first realized I needed readers, three weeks after my 40th birthday, I was devastated. It meant I couldn’t just pick up anything and read - and that is a deeply sacred practice to me. But I’ve realized that it means I just need to be a little more intentional about my reading time — plus I get to pick out cute frames and get a least a little closer to that sexy librarian I always wanted to be.
Thank you for reading, friends. I’m so grateful for you.
Much love,
~Lisa