I go to the gym just about every day & as long as my wheels are in working order I will run between 5 and 11 miles on a treadmill. A while ago I discovered it helped maintain my energy level, and maybe, more importantly… it helped with anger management and to knock out the hurts (physical or emotional) that I pick up along the way.
To help us cardio freaks out, gyms typically have a bank of TV monitors tuned to the key stations… CNN, ESPN & others that I don’t recognize. The sound is off; but some of the sets have “closed captioning” so we can follow the text of what’s being said.
This morning I caught a piece on Jim Valvano… or I think it was him. He was a basketball coach I think at NC State when they won the National Title… before then he may have been the coach at Providence… and maybe he coached for another team, too. If I am not mistaken he recently (within the last 10 years?) died… cancer? Anyway… I will have to check the facts with Zack.
Some Coaches are known for being great motivators (maybe it is what makes them great coaches, and not merely good coaches). Some are also quite well read and articulate & these latter skills prove useful on the “speech circuit”. Long after they put the play books aside, hang up the whistle & pack away their sneakers they can continue to share their insights with interested folks.
This morning I followed a speech that Valvano had made some time before his death; but after he learned that he was terminal…
He put 3 keys to life…
“Every day… laugh.”
“Every day… think. Spend some time in thought”
“Every day… experience something that will bring your emotional level to tears.”
And then he concluded… “Don’t Give Up”.
Not bad for some dumb jock…