Episode 48 | 2022 – What Story Do You Want To Write?

What’s up ACL Athletes, and welcome back to the last episode of 2021. This has been quite a year and we’re going to keep this last one short and sweet as we wrap it up. This one is titled 2022 – what story do you want to write?

And this is something that I heard first from my wife. I love this question because it kind of puts you almost into this kind of story mindset, and it’s you are writing each chapter, each page, and what is it that you want to write? And as we put our sights on 2022, I want you to think about this. I’m a huge sucker for setting goals and getting ready for the new year and reflecting and being able to make sure that I’m setting my sights on something that I want to achieve for this new year as I get older; whether that’s personally, professionally, all of these different areas that are important to me in these different buckets. And I think it’s important to have these targets, no matter who you are. If you have a goal, you need a plan to get there. 

I think it was Herm Edwards who said, one of my favorite quotes, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” When I talk to ACL athletes all the time, they’re like, you know, I want to do this, or I want to do that. I ask them the plan of how to get there. And there’s not really a plan, it’s just this desire or this want of something. And I’m like, well, there needs to be a plan. And so sometimes that turns into us working together where we do create a plan, or it’s them searching on Instagram for exercises which end up being just the shotgun approach. And we just want to make sure that we have a plan as we’re working towards these goals.

One of the things that I want you guys to think about as you have so many different goals that you want to get back to as you’re going through this ACL experience. Whether it’s you’re sitting in surgery right now, you just injured your ACL, maybe you are months out of your rehab process and it’s been frustrating, maybe your years out, and you’re like, now it’s time to get back on track.

I just had a guy who reached out, it’s been 16 years since his last ACL injury. And it’s something that he was like listening to this podcast and he is like, I need to do something about this. He is doing something about this and he’s created a plan and he has a goal set for 2022. And that’s the thing that’s in place for him to be able to get there. It’s never too late for you to be able to do this. And as you sit here, a year from now, how do you want 2022 to look? What type of story do you want to write?

Here is something that I want you to specifically do, and that’s to sit down for at least 15 minutes. Put your phone in another room, sit down, get all the distractions out of the way, TV off, anything you can think of. And I want you to sit down with just a sheet of paper and a pencil or a pen or whatever you prefer. And the first thing I want you to do is I want you to reflect on this year, where you currently sit, and where you are. You want to celebrate all the accomplishments and things that you’ve done, and then you want to make sure that you’re also reflecting on things maybe that you didn’t do as well, that you’re hoping that you either change or you can do something about. And this is going to be your point A. And maybe for some, okay, well, here’s the current status of my ACL journey is, my knee and my health and how I feel. And so this is your point A. You’re reflecting on your current point and the past year. 

And second, I want you to write down and focus on looking forward: what do you want to achieve this next year, in 2022? When you sit down one year from right now, what is it that you have accomplished? And for some of you, it might be getting back to playing soccer with your buddies, maybe it’s getting on the slopes again and skiing, or maybe it’s you just want to run around with your daughter outside in the yard. I have so many athletes who have so many different goals. And we have those targeted for 2022, and we are creating a plan to get there. And these different points are going to be your point Z. What is that dream? What is that end goal to be able to get to? That’s your point Z. 

And then your next initiative is, okay, I see my A and I see my Z, what is my next small step to get towards that Z or that dream that you were thinking of? And that’s going to be your B. You guys have heard me talk about this on the A- B-Z framework podcast. But this is something that I want you to visualize and to be able to anchor yourself to and set your sight on. And then that way, instead of getting too caught up in what that dream is, sure, that could be motivating to work towards. But I want you to focus on what the next small step is. And that’s going to help you to be able to make sure we’re going to make a plan.

And for some of you that might be, I need to find someone who knows what they’re doing with ACL rehab to guide me. And some of you it might be, I need to leave the clinic that I’m at in order to find someone to help me in this process. Maybe your next step is to get strength tested so you know where your numbers sit because you’re getting pretty close to returning to sport. Maybe for you it’s, I need to figure out a different surgeon because the current surgeon that I’m looking at doesn’t seem to be a very good fit. So then now it’s like, okay, well, let’s look up some other surgeons to be able to kickstart this process. But I want you to think about whatever your next small step is to be able to work towards that Z. And that’s what you’re going to target for early January.

And then when you achieve that, or if you’re kind of outlining this, what is the next small step after that? And if you think about this, you take those micro wins or you make those micro gains, it’s going to build you up towards that end goal. I want you to figure out what your point A is and reflection of this past year and currently where you’re at. I want you to figure out what your Z is or where that endpoint is, and then what is your B. And that’s going to be really important to be able to reflect and hear and be able to see on paper yourself.

And heck, just put that next to your bed, put it, hang it up on the mirror, whatever it is. And so that way you can see it and make sure you know, okay, I’m setting my sights on this. And I have a game plan to get there. Not just I want to play the guitar, but you don’t have any sort of instructor, or maybe something where you’re like, I don’t have an app to be able to help me to guide me on this. I don’t even have a guitar. Well, that’s going to be a problem. I want you guys to just kind of think about this and be able to figure out where these points are for you, and then that way there’s a vision for this next year ahead. What story do you want to write for 2022? 

And then the second part of this, I just want to thank all of you so much for this past year, for 2021, because it has been a journey. When I started this podcast, I wasn’t sure who was going to listen. My wife was just showing me the first 150 downloads, which was just crazy so long ago. And then making the story up that she was the one who downloaded it 150 times. I kid you not, I was like, no one’s going to listen to this. But, it is crazy to see that we are well over 13,000 downloads at this point, and it’s just continuing to go. And it really warms my heart and I’m not going to get sappy on you guys, but I really do appreciate it. It means the world to me to get these messages, to get these videos of you athletes doing different things, or just saying:

Hey, I took your questions to my surgeon and it really helped to gain clarity on knowing this was the right person. Or, being able to have an episode where someone’s like, I needed this to be able to get out of this rut that I was feeling, and it means so much to me. I couldn’t have done all of this and this entire year without all of you ACL athletes and clinicians and coaches and parents and husbands and wives and sisters and brothers who are supporting your people in this. Thank you all so much for the incredible support. 

And as we look forward to 2022, we’re just getting started. This is not ending by any means. There’s lots in store for the ACL athlete, for this podcast, for coaching, and so many more resources for all of you to make sure that you can make the best decision for your care and for your ACL journey, and for your health, and for your happiness, and for your confidence, and for your life. That’s going to be it from me guys. I love you all. See you in 2022. Just remember, what story do you want to write?