Why gametime matters

I rowed in a regatta Saturday and it was quite an experience. I rowed harder in the race than I ever did in practice--not that I'm lazy in practice, but this was real. I gave it everything and didn't care one ounce that my legs were burning and my lungs couldn't get enough oxygen in them, all that mattered was that I row with everything I had. It was ecstatic. I realized that I could only do that because it was in a race and the race mattered; not in any glorious or monetary way, just that it was the time to give everything.

Because it was real and not practice, I could access a deeper level of my potential. The fact is, life is always real--this is not a dress rehearsal or practice for gametime. This is it. Gametime is now. We're on. Everything is demanded, and it is demanded right now, without second thoughts or apprehension.