This a common trap that many “high achievers “ can fall into. Its not what have I done? Its what do I still need to do? The constant striving or grinding as some call it. The identity gets wrapped up in the achieving . Happiness gets found in accomplishment. The lose of the self can and does happen. “Who am I, without the striving?” Am I even someone if I am not working towards something?
Nick Chubb says his obsession with greatness costed him the ability to be present in life, and influenced his decision to retire
“I didn’t listen to music. I kind of just liked being aware of my surroundings. I guess it sounds kind of corny, but I didn’t have headphones. I’d kind of be lost in my thoughts. During games, it was like a blackout. That’s why people say I didn’t talk on the sidelines. I didn’t, ’cause I was so locked in on what was ahead of me.”
“It’s like I wasn’t even there. And I would snap out of it when we were winning or when the game was over, and I would just kind of come back to myself. So that’s kind of why I needed to stop playing football, because I was never present.”
“Even in the offseason, I’d be at home, and I’m just thinking about, okay, tomorrow I need to go harder in the weight room. I need to run faster. I need to hit these numbers. I’m just always constantly, over and over, like, how can I get better? I want more. I want to do more. Just nonstop, just wanting to be the best and be my best and work hard.”
“And I look up, like, 30 years old, and I’m like, okay, there’s some things in life that I haven’t accomplished or I haven’t done just being a human, not an athlete. So that kind of led to me wanting to stop, more than just my injuries. Just living my life, living the life that I want to live.”