David J.

Pollay

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December 22, 2008

Don’t Hide from Disappointment. Create a New Path.

Football was my life. I had no other plans. Being a football player was my identity.

When I was in the fifth grade, it was said that I was the fastest student ever to attend my elementary school. I won the Gold Medal in my intermediate school Olympics. I helped my high school football team win the conference championship by scoring on a 55-yard touchdown run, and I broke all our rushing records. And then, I was admitted to Yale University. I had a chance to play college football.

When I arrived in training camp, the coaches put the depth chart of each position on the locker room wall. I walked over, looked up, and saw that I was eighth on the depth chart at running back. I couldn’t believe it. I had always been the starter. Now, I was the backup to the seventh guy!

So I worked as hard as anyone on the team to rise in the ranks, and one week prior to the start of the season, I became the backup to the starter. And in our first game of the season I was given the ball only once. I ran for eight yards. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

The next week was better. The coaches gave me an opportunity to go head-to-head with the starter in practice. He would run a play. I would run a play. And that day I happened to be playing my best football ever. And then I ran a play that began the rest of my life.

The quarterback made the call at the line, the center snapped the ball, and I took off running. I needed to unleash a good block – I had to show the coaches how tough I was. I approached my target. I fixed my eyes on him. And as I began to uncoil and deliver my block, I heard a “pop.” And in an instant my right hamstring retracted into a ball of muscle. I fell to the ground clutching my leg. Worse than the pain, I realized that my season could be over.

But I wouldn’t give up. I did everything the trainers asked me to do. And three weeks after my injury, my trainers told me I was ready to sprint and start playing again. I didn’t think so. There was tightness deep inside my leg that I couldn’t quite loosen up. But the trainers knew better. That was their job. So I did what they said.

They called out to me, “Start jogging.”

And I did.

They yelled, “Start running.”

And I did.

They hollered, “Sprint!”

I took one step with my good leg, and then as I started my stride with my injured leg, I heard the sound of a giant rubber band snapping. I came crashing down. I knew it immediately: My season was over.

But, I still wouldn’t give up. I was a football player and I had to play football. So, I spent the rest of my freshman year rehabilitating my hamstring. I got myself into the best playing shape of my life.

One week before my sophomore football season, I was working out on a high school track. I had one more sprint in my workout. I stepped up to the starting line and took off flying down the track. And when I was just steps from the finish line, I felt that snap again. I grabbed my hamstring and fell to the track. I knew it then. My football career was over.

And for weeks I wanted to hide. I ran one football play for eight yards in college. That was it. That was my career. I didn’t want to face anyone. I worried that people would think I was a failure.

I had been a football player all my life. And now who was I?

In today’s economic turmoil, many of us are facing questions of identity, and most are significantly more difficult that the one I faced 24 years ago. People are reeling from unplanned and unwanted events. Life is hard when we get hurt, sick, divorced, laid off and fired – and when we lose our money.

And while we feel as though the whole world is watching us fail, the good news is that they really aren’t. People are thinking about their own challenges. It’s only our closest family, friends and colleagues who are really concerned about us. They just want us to be happy, healthy and successful. And that’s even better news. With their support, we don’t need to hide.

We can create a new path in life. 

David J. Pollay’s book, Beware of Garbage Trucks!™, is due out this Fall. Mr. Pollay is the creator of The Law of the Garbage Truck™ (www.bewareofgarbagetrucks.com). He is a syndicated columnist with the North Star Writers Group, creator and host of The Happiness Answer™ DVD, and an internationally sought after speaker. Mr. Pollay is the founder and president of the personal coaching and seminar organization, The Momentum Project (www.themomentumproject.com).

© 2008 David J. Pollay. Distributed by North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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