How to Prepare for Life After the Game (Part 2) was originally published on Tackle What's Next.
When it comes to preparing for life after sports, it’s all about YOU. Prioritizing yourself is the most important part of the process. In our last blog post, How to Prepare for Life After the Game (Part 1), we talked about taking some small steps on a consistent basis.
We shared the importance of exploring, researching and trying new things. Learn about YOU. Preparing to leave sports is all about taking the time now to think about what you’d be interested in diving into next.
But preparing for a career transition shouldn’t be done alone. You’ll need a lot of support to navigate the next chapter of your life – people to cheer you on and push you forward when you aren’t able to motivate yourself.
Once you’ve explored who you are and what you think you want to do in life after the game, here’s what you should do next.
STEP 5: Surround yourself with the right people, those who you can ask for help and count on.
Create your inner circle. Make yourself a team just like you had on the field and in the locker room. Don’t go it alone, because you don’t have to. Surround yourself with people who want to help you succeed and want to be a part of your journey. Add value to them when you can and never be afraid to ask for help.
STEP 6: Align your goals, make a plan, execute.
You’ve done the work to figure out who you are. You’ve committed to doing the work to achieve in your next chapter. You’ve given yourself time and grace to fail and explore. And you’ve surrounded yourself with a team who wants to help you succeed.
Now you’re ready to execute. Create SMART goals – strategic, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. Align them with your strengths and purpose. Plan your next steps, and execute. No one starts with it all figured out. Grow through taking action.
STEP 7: Evaluate the results, adjust the plan, reset your goals, execute. Repeat.
No one has it all figured out on day one. Your plan, goals and next steps will likely have to be tweaked and adjusted. A key to success is adaptability. Be able to look at your results, adapt the plan to make the changes needed, adjust your goals and execute again. Then, repeat. No rocket science here, just hard work and consistent effort.
Just as in most things in life, you are never done. You are always a work in progress. The end goal is going to continue to change as you grow. While that may seem frustrating, remember that just as in your sports career, there is always another mountain to climb, challenge to overcome, and vision to achieve.
You will always have the opportunity to explore, learn and build on yourself. THAT is tackling what’s next.
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