The athlete

spends his life

catering to the whims of his Mind,

not being the Truth that hides

behind the words of "athlete" or "legend".

Such a person will look forward to (or detest)

his training sessions no differently

than they would to some other pleasure-providing act (or annoying chore).

Like socialization with their friends,

hanging out with their partner,

or from their "feats" getting fake accolades

from the masses on their social media accounts.

And because of this,

no matter the occasion of the training,

there will either be tons of hopes attached to it,

or training to even begin training.

And because of this,

they will never be able to TRAIN

~~~

An athlete like that is the very embodiment of "average athlete"

This is the fact independent of them being lauded in the media

for their "one of a kind" persona or some other trait.

You must realize that "average" does not imply bad or poor.

Nor does it imply someone who has never achieved a top standing.

For when I say "average",

I say it not from the perspective of the masses or

he who is judging the athlete.

I say it from the perspective of the athlete themselves.

In fact, an athlete may even seem legendary at times.

Such times may even last long enough for the press or other media

to hail them as a "legend"

But such an athlete will never be a legend.

For one who is a legend, is always so,

without trying or awaiting others to label them.

And though the mainstream media may forget what traits truly

embody the Truth behind the word "Legend",

other (older) legends would know when they see

an athlete trying desperately to be deemed a legend

by others

and

a legend basking in his glory nonchalantly.

~~~

Do you see the difference?

An athlete will try to be a legend,

He may even appear "legendary".

Whereas, a legend is a legend.

What separates one from the other?

As I said earlier,

the difference stems from the perspective of the athlete themselves.

The perspective towards their training and their craft,

and thus their whole life.

The athlete

will train to compete.

He will compete to win.

He will win to amass wins.

He will amass wins to amass honors.

He will amass honors to be deemed a legend.

His entire life is based around this reward cycle.

Why cycle?

Because though the way I wrote,

makes the path appear straightforwardly "straight",

it is actually a cycle disguising a straight line.

You see, no matter how many times he completes an iteration,

he will always revert back to where he started.

And always, in the end, he will feel a temporary ecstatic high,

that may last days,

and immediately followed by an emptiness inside for having gotten nowhere.

Such an athlete's demeanor is the obviousness of the incompetence

they feel inside.

It is obvious in the way they talk,

the way they carry themselves,

and in the manner they interact with everyone else in their life.

~~~

The legend on the opposite end of this averageness,

is as free as they were in their first game or competition

as they will be during the last game just before their retirement.

For such an human will have arrived during their training itself.

They will have clearly seen the tentacles

attempting to erode their essence and continually inject

the illusionary reward cycle deep into their consciousness.

And because they will see it,

they will not play into it.

Because they will not play into it,

they will TRAIN in their training sessions.

So that come game or competition time,

they will fully realize that the ask from them

is not that different as it was in training.

But quite the opposite, and to make it merrier,

there will be an even more vast,

an almost endless stage in space and time...

...to TRAIN...

... to PLAY...

... to WIN...

... to express their legendhood.

Thank you.