I Am an Athlete
The Decision That Turns "I Want to Be" Into Who You Already Are
I graduated college 12 years ago when I was 22. I remember those months around graduation. I started journaling a lot more, and I just came across one of those journal entries. I was asking myself who I wanted to be, what kind of reputation I wanted, what kind of person I wanted my future kids to see. And somewhere in that entry, I landed on a thought I didn't fully understand yet: maybe if I start talking to myself like the version I hope to be, I will become her.
I didn't have language for it then. It took over a decade of coaching leaders to see what that sentence was really pointing at.
Here's what I see over and over in the leaders I coach: the ones who speak as if they've already become the person they're working toward are more successful, not because they're further along, but because they believe in themselves differently. The ones who constantly feel like they don't measure up to who they want to be just aren't operating on the same level, even when their skills are comparable.
At first, that felt fake to me. Like, you haven't arrived. Where's the humility in claiming a version of yourself you haven't fully earned yet?
But then I asked myself a harder question: when, exactly, is the day you become the aspirational version of yourself? A number on a scale? A certification? A promotion? Can you draw a line anywhere in your life and say, "now I've made it"? No. You can't. There's no finish line that unlocks the identity.
The only place I've found you can actually draw that line is when you decide.
That decision is the turning point. It's what takes you from "I want to be healthy, but I'm going to eat like trash today" to "I am an athlete, so I choose the option that fuels my workouts." It's what takes you from "I want to have integrity" to "I choose to tell the truth today." One version keeps you negotiating with the old you. The other one doesn't leave room for her.
It takes the guesswork out. It narrows your focus. It makes decisions easier and excuses harder.
Some of the best advice I can give another leader is this: start treating yourself like the version of you that you want to become. Stop waiting for someday, and start living it out today.
What's one place in your life where you're still saying "I want to be," when you could decide, right now, "I am"?
