Love The Lows

Man, first off, I want to apologize for leaving you guys hanging for a week.

I’ve had a lot going on both personal and health, and honestly I have been struggling a bit.

These past two weeks have been full of frustration with my body and circumstance which has led to poor performance, doubt, and a fair amount of anxiety.

But, guess what?

This is all part of it.

This is what growth and development looks and feels like.

The evolution to more is often ugly, painful and suffocating.

If leveling up was easy, everyone would do it.

Let’s dive into these last two weeks.

Why I Do This:

It takes a lot of vulnerability to share your story. There are going to be many a moment of raw emotion and struggle. As much as it can be empowering to share your story, it can just as easily be embarrassing. This last week I shared the truth about my first game in champions league and I was a bit nervous posting it. I had a moment of not wanting to look like a “fraud”.

I thought to myself, Why should anyone look up to or listen to me for advice when I have games this shitty?

It’s clear now that this insecurity was misplaced and the overwhelming positive response I have gotten from this video proves it. Everyone struggles, especially pro’s and especially the people you may look up to because at the end of the day we are all human.

We are all work’s in progress, and therein lies the beauty.

Own your mistakes, relate to people on a human level, and watch as your push towards higher levels of excellence inspires others doing the same.

treydrechsel

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Thoughts From This Week

Low Moments

I would consider my last 3-4 games a low moment for me so far in this season. It has been more than just the games and more poor performance too. The daily struggle of trying to get healthy while also finding my rhythm and groove on the court has been mentally exhausting. My normal techniques I use to establish my rhythm are not available because I have to manage my workload as to not aggravate my nagging injuries more.

My court work is restricted and my priority is on rehabbing, resting and recovering.

It has felt like I am flailing about just to stay afloat while my team needs me to be swimming faster and leading.

It is a very discouraging feeling, almost helpless. Your team needs you to be you, but you feel weighed down by things outside of your control.

Shitty.

Every basketball season I have played in has had tons of moments like these, both good and bad, all intense and emotional. Navigating these moments with grace and perspective is a huge part of having a “successful” season.

For me, the key to navigating is the simple reminder that these are just moments. They are temporary.

They are not who you are.

Life has a funny pendulum effect. Highs and lows swing and sway back in forth in an almost calculated cadence. Once you recognize the pattern, it is clear as day.

We are not the pendulum, but moreover how we harness and respond to the pendulum shows us who we are.

Your response to extremely high and low moments reveals your true character, your true essence.

Failures make a man.

It is the moment when his commitment, values, and resiliency is put to the test.

Are you who you say you are when it feels like everything is collapsing around you?

A daunting question…

A huge opportunity…

These low moments are there for us to display our greatness.

Greatness is found in the ‘get back’.

It is found in how you bounce up after getting knocked to the ground.

Respect your lows, treasure them, and trust that they are there for your necessary development.

Why You Lose Your Love

Basketball or any sort of performance for that matter is an easy place to feel misunderstood and misaligned when your results are not matching up with who you believe you are.

Even as straightforward as, I believe I am a good basketball player, and then proceed to shoot 27% from the field and have 5 turnovers (perform poorly).

A good basketball player would never do that, my mind wrongly states.

Now those feelings of insecurity, frustration, misalignment, embarrassment, and anxiety flood in because you allowed a performance to shake your idea of who you thought you were.

This cycle happens all the time, both when you play well and when you play poorly.

When you see super talented players performing oddly inconsistent, I almost guarantee you this thought pattern is consuming their being.

The solution to these feelings is not fixing your performance, but instead fixing where you place your identity.

This you can control.

Your relationship with yourself is the center at which everything flows from.

You are expansive too.

Meaning, you can be many different things at once.

This acknowledgement takes the pressure off your performance in one of the many different things you are.

I am a present husband, brother, son and friend.

I am a creative storyteller, videographer, YouTuber, writer, and thinker.

I am a coffee enthusiast, sneakerhead, Star Wars nerd, dachshund lover, and world traveler.

and…

I am one of hell of a basketball player.

Be all of the first 3 lines of things first.

Basketball is only part of who you are.

This acceptance lessens the sting from the emotions that accompany the misalignment you feel after a poor performance.

Of course, it still hurts, but not as bad, and not to the point you question your love of the game.

That is the key.

Build your identity in who you are as a human being so that how you perform as a basketball player does not determine your love for the game.

YouTube Drops

A game day vlog, a detailed insight into my pregame routine and a guide to how to watch and apply film to your workouts…

That is what I got for you on my YouTube channel!

Three very different styles of video, but hopefully three videos jam-packed with value and application to your own journeys to live atypical.

I’ll Leave You With This:

Whenever I go through tough moments, this mantra always pops into my head when things get the toughest:

Failures make a man.

Its true.

You have to fall flat on your face over and over again to find out what it takes to be who you want to be.

Your potential is actualized in the moments you respond to falling short.

It is where you show who really are.

Be all that you are, and

Live Atypical.

Trey