Is Everyone Really an Athlete?
Yep. You bet. Or can and certainly should be. This will take a little explaining but it’s a topic which is frequently debated in the fitness and athletic community.
Let’s break down the whole “is, can be, and should be” (an athlete) perspective.
As humans we are amazing, complex organisms. But we are also animals on Earth. As I described in detail in my book, AnimalFIT, there exists within each of us an animal whose potential to function and perform in multiple athletic capacities is magnificent. In the most flattering sense, I call this the inner BEAST. It’s evolutionarily hard-wired into humans. Everyone has athletic DNA.
In a very general sense, I’ve never met a single human who did not possess an athletic gift or two. You, like me, have also known many who have several of those gifts. And we are all aware of a few who have very many. But there’s not a single person who doesn’t have at least one athletic gift. It’s certainly possible that gift may not have been developed, nurtured, and expressed to a high degree, but it’s still in there, within each of us.
Unfortunately, we live in a world impacted by oppressive sociocultural factors, diminished opportunities, and negative reinforcement. All societies value sport of some type, but entry is often barred or limited relative to gender, socioeconomic status, etc. The kid who is picked last as teams are formed on the playground is told he/she is not an athlete, repeatedly, in both virtual and relative terms, and they eventually come to believe this false condition to be true.
That’s not the world I want to live in, and it’s not the one I propagate. Instead of keeping people down and holding them back, let’s bring everybody up. Athleticism in TLA terms has a very broad context. We appreciate the 5 Capacities which are strength, speed, power, agility, and endurance. And to those, in a sporting sense, we add aspects of skill, timing, coordination, and strategy. Everybody’s got something special, it just might not be at the surface of their current existence. A lot of this has to do with exposures. Maybe the sports and activities they’ve tried were just not the right ones for them. In all probability they simply have not yet found their thing, their jam, the athletic identity that fits. When that occurs, two things happen predictably. Intrinsic motivation goes up. And extrinsic encouragement supports it.
This is essential for every adult, but it is so critical for our kids. Help them to develop a positive physical self esteem. An athletic identity. To embrace sports and physical activity for a lifetime. That’s why I feel physical education done well (just like math, science, art or music education) is such a valuable and necessary component of educational curricula.
A lot of us in this community are fortunate because we’ve had those opportunities and experiences from a young age. We know we have athletic abilities and we are confident in that knowledge. You’ve got a sport (broad definition here), or several, you’re good at. Training, participating, and competing is a joyous experience. We celebrate our able-bodiedness with not just working out, but playing, in a natural, animalistic manner. We use sport to enhance our life satisfaction and overall mental and physical health.
Our responsibility is to welcome others into this fold. Encourage them to keep looking and trying until they find their jam. Not to worry about the things they tried that didn’t work or that they didn’t like. But also not to give up on the whole inner athlete concept. Because they have one. Finding that inner BEAST is so incredibly important because it fosters the artistic physicality of which each of us is capable, and deserving. Everybody’s an athlete…even if they just don’t know it yet.
And, instead of telling people what they can’t do (or be), let’s help them to find the joy in athletic participation. And we must expand our viewpoint to be inclusive of those with physical challenges or disabilities. Finding the way and creating the win isn’t easy, but it goes beyond popular hashtags.
Everyone can be an athlete. Let’s keep the mind expansion going. Notice how CrossFit and HYROX turned fitness into a sport. Or how backpacking, hunting, fishing, and watersports can be just as legit as hockey, soccer, pickleball, and golf. It doesn’t matter. Each human can find a couple activities they really enjoy and use that to take the athletic avenue into wellness.
And everyone should get and stay on that journey. The personal benefits are immense when it comes to life satisfaction, consistency with exercise and training, and energy with which we can go about our day. Hitting many accomplishments, yes, but making great contributions to society as well. The sporting life is a right indeed. But it is also a responsibility. It’s an innate part of being human that we must recognize, respect, and engage in wholeheartedly.
Yes, everyone really is an athlete.