Athletes with Amnesia

Athletes with Amnesia

If you have a body, you're an athlete. Most of us have simply forgotten.

"If you have a body, you're an athlete." — Bill Bowerman

Back in 2007, I was a brand-new trainer working floor shifts at Equinox in New York City.

I was making eight dollars an hour.

Studying anatomy.

Studying kinesiology.

Learning to become a coach.

During a break from classes, I walked into the Nike flagship store on Fifth Avenue. I made my way to the top floor.

There, along the wall, in giant letters, was a quote from Bill Bowerman:

"If you have a body, you're an athlete."

I stopped.

And something clicked.

I had raced alpine skiing.

I was co-captain of my high school track team.

I had played sports.

But I never thought of myself as an athlete.

Athletes were the state champions. The travel-team kids. The naturally gifted.

I considered myself athletic.

Not an athlete.

Bowerman's words changed my definition.

An athlete wasn't a title reserved for the best. It was a way of relating to your body.

Your body is the vehicle through which you experience your entire life. Thinking like an athlete means learning to understand it, care for it, and use it well.

We Begin as Athletes

One of the most common things I hear is:

"I'm not an athlete."

I no longer buy it.

I think most people are athletes with amnesia.

Take almost any child. Say:

"Race you! Ready, set, go!"

And they're gone.

Running.

Jumping.

Climbing.

Playing.

Experimenting.

Competing.

Moving.

Nobody taught them to identify as athletes. They are simply kids being kids.

Somewhere along the way—scarily early in many cases—we forget.

Sports separate the "athletic" from everyone else. Work puts us behind desks. Injuries make us cautious. Aging gets described as inevitable decline.

We stop playing.

We stop moving.

We stop exploring.

And eventually, we start telling ourselves stories:

"I'm not athletic."

"I'm too old."

"I was never good at sports."

No, no, no.

You forgot.

You forgot who you were before you had an identity. Before you decided whether you were athletic. Before you decided whether you were good at sports.

You were the toddler who fell thousands of times learning to roll, stand, walk, and run.

You never quit.

The athlete didn't disappear.

The athlete went dormant.

Athlete Is an Attitude

Being an athlete does not require a podium, a six-pack, or a punishing training schedule.

It means recognizing that your body is built to move, learn, and adapt.

It means paying attention.

Practicing physical skills.

Building strength for the life you want.

Recovering with intention.

Remaining curious about what your body can still do.

Your arena might be a mountain, a golf course, or a garden. It might be carrying luggage, getting off the floor, or keeping up with your children.

The performance changes.

The practice remains.

You may be injured, out of shape, uncertain, or older than you were when movement came naturally. None of that disqualifies you. It simply tells you where you are beginning.

Before we talk about fitness, strength, mobility, longevity, recovery, performance, pain, or aging, I want you to understand one thing:

You are not broken.

You are not too old.

You are not too far behind.

You are not starting from zero.

You are starting from experience.

You are an athlete.

You always have been.

Identity comes first. Performance follows.

The athlete didn't disappear.

It's time to remember.

Athlete is an attitude.

The rest is practice.