Grateful and Grounded

I remember the night I signed my first pro contract. I sat at the counter in the kitchen of our university house, right between the sauna we bought and the 6 foot high tower of pizza boxes. I lay the contract out on a clean cutting board because our counter was so sticky from the 6 guys that shared that cooking area. I was overwhelmed with excitement and nerves. I also remember when I first got my French contract offer. I was walking to the bus after a serve-and-pass in Berlin with my good friend Matt Knigge, and I almost dropped my phone. Not a few hours before I was sharing my disappointment about the level of my recent performance and the unknown nature of the following year. We both jumped with joy (what a great teammate hey?) and we talked late into the night about the amazing opportunities that were coming our way - again with excitement and a lot of nerves. 

Fast forward to the middle of January in the south of France and there are no nerves or excitement. I have found myself knee-deep, perhaps even waist-deep, in a losing season, a broken team culture, and with no opportunities on the horizon. I wish I had really captured those feelings of signing my first contract, or skipping to the bus with Matt. And perhaps that is the meaning of this post, to remember those feelings and encourage myself to not take those moments in time for granted. To urge myself to find that spark again. These opportunities that I have been given are incredible. I've met some incredible people, seen the world, won big (and lost big), and done it with my beautiful fiancée. 

Mathias said on the podcast that one of the things he missed most about playing was taking an extra second at the service line to soak it all in, to have an attitude of gratitude, and to celebrate the life that he has been given. I need to do more of that. He shared how he believes that regret is a choice. I don’t want to have to make that choice when I look back at my career. I don’t want to have to say that I didn't make the most out of my opportunities or I didn’t appreciate what I had at the time. So here’s to being as grateful and grounded as Thias moving forward. 

J