Knowing Your Identity is the Key to Embracing the Process
Since you’ve been on this journey of falling in love with the process you’ve learned the importance of goals and accountability. But in order to have the right mindset with goal setting and choosing accountability, you must understand the importance of knowing your identity.
We know your basketball journey depends on you, and that is why I’m so proud of you for reading this right now. That, in itself, speaks volumes – that tells me you are willing to look for and learn from the material that is going to help you along your journey.
But do you know who you are? Before we go any further into learning how to fall in love with the process of becoming great, we must first understand how knowing your identity is the key to embracing this process. Knowing your identity will help you build a solid, unshakable foundation for a long prosperous basketball journey.
Who You Are vs What You Do
Is Basketball Your Identity?
Who you are is not defined by what you do, but the values you choose to live by.
All too often, athletes define themselves by their sports. The problem with tying your identity to sport is that how we feel about ourselves becomes dependent on our performance.
Do not let basketball become your identity. Your worth is not determined by your performance. You are so much more than that.
Embracing the Process Through Character Development
Determining your worth by your performance is a great way to deter yourself from falling in love with the process; getting caught up in the results and the highs and lows of the game rather than focusing on development is the opposite of embracing the process.
Don’t make your values about being the best. Make your values revolve around becoming the best – I outwork others; I stay focused on improvement; I am elite in my discipline.
Being the best now, is only a snapshot of your current circumstances. But there will always be someone one town, one club, or one age-group over who is better than you. Who you are needs to set you up with habits and a mentality to get better than that person over time, not just expect to be better now.
No one starts the race in first place and stays there – you can start in the back, and still pass people.
Embracing the process means focusing on your development as a player and, even more, a person. Who do you want to be? What characteristics do you value within yourself?
When you value development, discipline, excellence, etc… Those things will start to overflow into what you do and that is ultimately what builds your character – WHO YOU BECOME.
Identity vs Passion
I understand, a lot of my audience may be basketball obsessed. Please do not mistake the use of the word identity for passion. I stand by all I’ve said above, but it is not a bad thing to be passionate about the game. I want you to be passionate. Again, you have to know what you want and determination and passion are absolutely necessary for achieving it.
Just know the risk you take if “ball is life”, or all you do is “eat, sleep, breathe basketball” without any thought of building your character apart from that.
The biggest component to the foundation of falling in love with the process is knowing where your worth lies. If you’re not absolutely confident that you know where your worth lies, then, please, sit in this thought for a moment so you can truly embrace falling in love with the process.
Knowing Your Identity Starts with Knowing Your Creator
Have you ever thought about how valuable you are? Well, if you don’t know this already I’d love to share just how valuable you are; but not just to me, to the God who created you!
Losing Your Identity
God created us and His original creation was designed to live united with Him and in His image – His “likeness”. What is God’s image? To put it simply: God is love, and the light of the world. (1 John 4:8; John 8:12)
But humans chose to walk outside of this perfect design and instead pursue more selfish – or self-pleasing – desires (the exact opposite of love).
Therefore, we lost ourselves – our true identity – and all the pain, suffering and darkness in this world is the result (makes sense, right?).
Being Found in Christ
So God, in His selfless, unconditional love, rescued and redeemed us back to our original identity through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That’s right, Jesus died FOR YOU! (John 3:16)
“Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” – John 15:13
You are worth DYING FOR! And because Jesus defeated death, He empowers us to do the same – we no longer have to be slaves to the selfish desires we were born into – the desires that only lead to darkness and death. (Romans 6:6)
Instead, through the knowledge of the Truth, we can live in freedom (John 8:32); united with God and in His likeness again – full of life and light; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galations 5:13-26)
Knowing Your Identity Apart from Performance
And that, my friend, is who you are. That is where your worth lies – in the resurrected arms of Jesus Christ. And knowing this – believing with all your heart that your identity is no longer tied to your performance – frees you from being a slave to your performance. (Galations 4:7)
Knowing your identity changes everything.
Now we are able to do whatever we do – including play basketball – with that freedom! Our identity is now secure in the image of God. God is love and the only thing He asks of us is to take that same love that we’ve realized and received and share it with others – let your light shine! (Matthew 5:16) We’re just so blessed we get to do that through basketball!
So, I hope you understand your worth; how valuable you really are. And I thank God that, through the knowledge of your true identity, you can fall in love with the process and play with love, joy, peace, accountability and freedom.
If it’s what you really want, becoming great at basketball will eventually be a byproduct of knowing your identity! But whether you become great in the world’s eyes or not, don’t ever forget who you are!
Don’t worry, it’s not over yet – the final article of the series is next – Part IIII: Falling in Love with the Process
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