Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

What has to happen for you to figure out when enough's enough?  Do you have to break your leg and never be able to run correctly again?  Do you need to be diagnosed with a terminal disease?  Or is it simple enough that you can just stop at any time and have no regrets?  

Being an athlete one's whole life can make a person crazy.  You can feel miserable your whole life.  Shoulder hurts, knees ache, back is all outta whack, ankles and hips popping all over the place, etc.  As a kid no one had these problems.  It was easy to play 4 games in one day and then three the next.  No big deal.  No soreness, no cramping, no problems.  Those were the days.  At some point as one gets older you stop being able to get by with that stuff.  There's no chance you're waking up to run AND try to play softball that same night.  Your body will literally fail on you the next day.  Hamstrings and groin are tight, knees are bound up, and all the beer you drank over the three hours of "athletics" is doing a number on your insides.  Sucks.  But when is it time to stop?

I'd like to think I'll never get there.  I'm going to be the guy playing soccer and softball into my 50s until my body stops responding.  At that point I'll just pick up another sport/game/athletic hobby and the show will go on.  But there are days when I feel that's just not going to happen.  There are days when I think I've hit a wall.  I used to jump at the chance to sub for anything.  Nothing going on Friday night, your cousin calls and needs your arm out in the outfield.....I'm down.  But at some point the idea of just sitting on the couch watching the latest Netflix movie you got that day seems like a better option.  After all, Saturday is a big day of cutting the grass and......something else I'm sure......and did I mention cutting the grass?  Saturday comes, you look at the yard.....it can wait a day or two more.  I'm tired.  That movie last night was longer than I thought!

It's all about motivation.  Motivation to be active.  To be healthy.  To be vibrant.  To get back into the groove of what it's like to be a fully operational human being.  You have to keep up on it.  You have to stay in shape. It's tough to lose that shape you used to fight so hard for and get the motivation back up to do it all over again.  There are too many reasons not to treat yourself to your health.  Good food, good beer, good relaxation.  But then the day comes when you're really feeling good.  You really want to get back out there and play.  You get the call.  You get out there.  You do poorly because you're out of shape and out of practice.  And then depression sets in.  Wake up the next day hung over, pissed off and sore as shit.....with nothing to show for it.  That's when you have to dig deep.  You gotta get back out there and get in shape to get yourself ready for the next time you get the call.  Motivate yourself to be better.  Let me know how that works out for you.....there's a good chance my couch is calling me.  After all, I still haven't seen "True Grit."