Last night, my family and I went to cheer for and support the Atlanta Hustle. The Hustle is Atlanta’s professional Ultimate Frisbee team, and they play at Silverbacks park. This was going to be the first home playoff game ever hosted by the Hustle, who were 10-2 this year and also 6-0 for the season at home. Three years ago, I had never heard of Ultimate Frisbee. Now my business is the official pharmacy of the Atlanta Hustle and I am an avid fan of the sport. Initially, I didn’t know what to expect when I attended the first game. However, you could immediately feel the camaraderie and family friendly atmosphere at this unique venue located near spaghetti junction.
“There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people.” - G.K. Chesterton
I believe that opportunities are all around us. Sometimes, we are bound by our untested beliefs, unchecked influences, and unfulfilled desires. The lenses we choose to look at life through, determines and shapes our perspective. Very much like cement left to dry, our perspectives eventually become our perceptions. Our perceptions, regardless of validity, become our reality. Now imagine nearly eight million souls on this never ending continuum. Ghandi once said, “if you want to change the world, start with yourself.”
It was a pleasure to see a diverse community of individuals joyfully observing the game they’ve come to know and love, being played at the highest level. What I’ve come to appreciate about ultimate, is that it is much like life. It’s nonstop action, it can be slow or thrilling in an instant, and it’s a team sport. The Hustle may have been down by one point on the scoreboard, but in a game for the ages that was back and forth like a heavyweight championship slugfest, even though they lost, they still won.
No matter where you are in life, ask yourself if you are putting forth your best effort. If you are not, you can receive all of the accolades in the world and still feel emptiness. If you are giving your very best, you could be underutilized and unnoticed but have the deep satisfaction of knowing that your motivations are internal as opposed to constantly shifting external ones.
Hats off to our Atlanta Hustle, and to all who have stepped outside of their comfort zones in any area of life to move the needle towards greatness!