I recently had a coach from my high school football team hit
me up with a request. He wanted me to send him a photo from my playing days as
a Puyallup Viking. He was working on a project highlighting former players.
I hit him back with a text that read, “No prob Coach. I'm on it!”
While I sent the text, I began to ponder if I even had any
old football photos of me donning the mighty purple and gold (ironic thing to
say coming from a Coug).
I tend to not be very nostalgic. I love spring cleaning. I
get a mini rush of dopamine when I purge my closet. I don't need to hold on to
old things. – even my old sports stuff.
Realizing this, I started to get a little nervous.
While I was rummaging around our storage shelves in our
garage, I couldn't find any old pictures. “I must have either given them away
or threw them out in the trash,” I thought.
While looking through some hidden boxes in the corner, I
finally found what I was looking for – my high school yearbooks!
“There had to be a football photo of me in here,” I said to
myself while feeling like I just found a needle in a haystack.
So there I was on an early Saturday spring morning, thumbing
through yearbooks that I hadn't opened in over at least a decade. What a blast
from the past. Memories started flushing in. I saw faces I hadn't seen in many
years. I even texted some of these photos to my friends. It was
hilarious...cargo pants and frosted tips; baggy jeans and polo shirts; Caesar
cuts for the guys and shoulder length bobs for the girls.
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| I could fit another human in those huge pants...sup Gator? |
I even started to read some of the comments and notes people
wrote me in my yearbook. Instead of cleaning out my garage, I was reminiscing
on my life as a teenager in high school. This exercise helped me reflect on my
life during that time – the good and the bad.
I truly had a storybook run in high school. I was Homecoming
King, voted “Dream Date,” was an excellent student, and won many awards as an
athlete. However, like many young people, I often times was caught up in the
lie of perfection. I was insecure and worried too much about what others
thought of me.
Reliving some of those emotions again, I played the game of
“What would I have done differently?” If I could go back in time, what would my
relationships look like? Would I have trained differently? How would I have
addressed some of my fears?
Let me preface that I had an amazing time in high school. I
had many awesome friends and experiences. I had outstanding support from my
family and loved ones. But looking through these yearbooks reminded me of how
much I didn't know.
Upon reflection, I would've been more grateful. I would've
served more people.I would've worried
less and laughed more. Instead of trying to be cool and liked by everyone, I
would have focused more energy on defining my core values and just loving me
for me. I would've been more bold.
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| Taking it to the HOUSE! |
I wouldn't have WASTED
a single hour or day on doing tasks that didn't help me reach my goals.
Without even knowing it, this exercise change my emotional
state. If you have ever listened to or watched the best business and life coach
on the planet, Tony Robbins, you know that he's all about getting people to
change their state. When you're in a heightened emotional state, you're ready
to take action.
While in this zone of reflection and reminiscing on my
mindset and some of the things I would've done differently, it helped me create
an exercise that I want you to do.
While going on a walk that evening, I pictured myself 10 to
20 years in the future. I imagined,
“How would my future
self in 2037 assess my life right now, today, at this moment in 2017?”
What would a 57 year old Collin say to a 37 year old Collin?
What advice would I give myself? What would I have done differently? What
should I focus on? What is really important in life? Am I getting everything
out of every single day, every single hour, every single minute?
I can't get those years in high school back, and I can't get
these years back either.
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| I looked at this sign every day in the WSU weight room and believe this this to be so true. |
I don't believe in
living in the past. I due believe in learning from our past to improve our
future.
Coming to that conclusion and by feeling the emotions and
memories looking through my old yearbooks, I did a self scout on myself and how
I'm living RIGHT NOW:
●
What am I doing well and what areas can I improve?
●
What areas in my life am I avoiding?
●
What relationships do I need to fix?
●
What legacy am I leaving?
●
Am I playing to my strengths and going all in on my
gifts?
●
Am I maximizing every second with my wife and my
children?
●
Am I helping enough people?
●
Am I checking things off my bucket list?
AM I LIVING MY LIFE AS
MY BEST SELF?
Knowing what I know now, and thinking about myself 20 years
ago, this exercise got me really really excited. I almost had an out of body
experience feeling like this is not my real life...this is just a dream.
I can start over right
now and do anything that I want.
This exercise helped diminish some of my fears. This process
help me get excited for living in the moment and for what's to come. I had a huge sense of gratitude flow over me...even in the simple and small things. I left
that mental exercise truly believing that I can write any story I want and live
out my dreams.
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| I see you B. Rip. What's up Coach W! Javon Deuce-Tray! |
By reflecting on what I used to worry and obsess over in my
past...I realized those were actually somewhat small things. It's amazing what
a few years away gives you in terms of perspective. I would tell my younger
self to stop majoring in minor things...people's opinions are just that –
opinions – not facts. Your only competition is just you, and no one else. And
here's a key piece of advice: don't be afraid to have crucial conversations
with the people you love and who love you.
Why can't we hack our
brain and do that same exercise now?
My 57-year-old self would probably give me similar advice
and tell me to chill the F out. Everything's gonna be OK. Trust in yourself and
trust in God. Just go for it!
This is my task for you. Here are 5 steps to go Back
to the Future and Use Your Past to Build a Better Now:
1.
REFLECT:
Help change your emotional state by looking at old yearbooks, pictures or
videos of you in your youth, or 10 to 20 years ago.
2.
SELF-ASSESS:
Reflect on if there is anything you would've done differently – not in a
negative way, but with the approach of self scouting.
3.
EVALUATE:
Decipher if some of the same fears, worries, or internal stories are holding
you back today.
4.
FUTURE WISDOM:
With this refreshed lens and perspective, pretend you are yourself 10 to 20
years in the future looking back on your life right now. What would you do
different? Reference my list of questions above.
5.
TAKE ACTION:
Decide to take action and do not waste a single day. Do things that you've been
putting off. Mend relationships that have been broken. Attack your fears.
Follow your heart. Live your dream. Reassess how you look at failure, and learn
from it.
The time is now! We
only get one at bat in life. Please don’t waste it.
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| That's me on the left and my buddy since we were 6 years old, Brett the "Beast" Beetham on the right. We were later teammates again at WSU. |
I eventually was able to find some old pictures of me at my
parent’s house, and I sent them to the Puyallup football coach. I'm looking
forward to seeing how this project turns out. After this experience of looking
back at my younger self, I'm even more excited to create new pictures and
memories living life like there's no tomorrow.
My hope is that you do the same.
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| Collin Henderson is the creator and founder of Project Rise. Project Rise is a platform to uplift and inspire people to be the best version of themselves. |
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