“You’re a beast back there.”
It’s the most frequent compliment I get from teammates and opponents. Soccer is where I’ve consistently acted out the integration of my shadow into my persona. It’s come from an overdeveloped sense of work ethic. When every striker seemed bigger, stronger, faster, more skilled, or better equipped, I figured that I could out work any one of them. Pushing myself to never give up on any play introduced me to the beast. Through the work I’ve gotten stronger, faster, and a bit more skillful. Game after game I found unlikely successes and built neural shortcuts to the beast.
It’s there at every kickoff now. It’s part of my game, part of me that is entirely under control in a seemingly wild way.
I have a lot more beasts to contend with, trickier and nastier monsters, but I know how to work and how to use them for my betterment.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason