Life is a sport
Recently, I met a writer on the side of a highway in Rhode Island.
She was there dropping off her car so it could be loaded onto one of those massive trucks that ships cars across the country—in her case, to Los Angeles. Mine was coming off the truck, from Los Angeles.
We chuckled at the coincidence and got to talking.
She’s an LA-based TV writer who was in Providence teaching a university screenwriting course.
When she asked me what I did, I said, “I’m a coach.”
To which she asked, “What sports?”
“Life,” I told her.
I wasn’t trying to be flippant. It just came out. Later I thought maybe my response occurred to her as pretentious or odd.
We exchanged numbers and I was glad to receive her text the next day:
I love when I asked what sports you coach, you answered: life. Best one of all!
It made me wonder, if we thought more about life that way—as a sport—would it feel more fun and fulfilling?
The things that make sports such compelling dramas are the things we tend to shy away from in life: struggle, heartbreak, getting back up after a loss.
What if instead of protecting yourself from these things, you embraced them as necessary aspects of a life well lived, a game well played?
You can only know ease, love, and resilience if you’ve experienced struggle, heartbreak, and loss.
There is no light without dark.
Shortly before my chance encounter with the TV writer, I heard a venture capitalist make a prediction: As artificial intelligence transforms and dissolves many industries, one will thrive. Sports.
The humanity.
The physicality.
The effort.
The camaraderie.
The passion.
These will be coveted aspects of the human experience once the robots have taken over.
What if you started coveting them now?
If humanity, physicality, effort, camaraderie, and passion became bigger priorities and you were more willing to embrace struggle, heartbreak, and loss, how would your experience (of your work, relationships, and health) be different?
More succinctly put:
How might you reorient your life if you thought of it as a sport—the best one of all?
Providence, RI
June 2025
