By Brayden Funn
Chances are that you’re familiar with the name “LeBron James.” What amazes people about LeBron is that, even though he’s the fifth oldest player in the NBA (at 36 years old), he continues to break records. LeBron is arguably one of the best players—if not the best—to step on the NBA court, even to this very season. Quite frequently, people ask, “how!?” It’s a valid question.
As LeBron puts it, “It’s just [his] personal motivation”.
In the world of positive psychology, we might translate this to his sense of purpose, which is a “chosen set of life aims that guides your actions and gives meaning to life” (see our Purpose Module). There is no question that he’s built a foundation for generations to come, but it started with himself and his own hard work—coming from a very poor town and a single mother that had him at age 16. There was a foundation that he built, prior to taking off in his NBA career. It started within himself by finding his purpose. What was of significant importance, though, was that this foundation was solid enough to be built upon.
LeBron James has taken basketball to new heights, and has recently gained significant publicity as a result of the announced $1.5 million that he spends each year on his body. With that being said, something that’s very interesting is that most things that he does to take care of his body don’t necessarily require the spending of money at all. A lot of the things he discusses in this video can be done at home, such as daily exercise, yoga, eating healthy, meditating, and having a routine sleep schedule.
So the things that have helped one of the greatest basketball players of all time to succeed are accessible to all of us—and they’re all within the realm of flourishing and optimal living. LeBron James is a prime example of how practically applying positive psychology principles is extremely beneficial. Well into his 17-year-log career in the NBA, there are no signs of LeBron slowing down. He is doing the unthinkable.
Surely we aren’t all aiming to be basketball stars, or even athletes for that matter, but we can certainly benefit from every single one of these practices (i.e., early rising, daily exercise, mindfulness/yoga, healthy eating, proper sleep), which ultimately boils down to a healthy lifestyle. We may sometimes have a tendency to assume there’s something wrong with us—perhaps there’s something going on that makes us feel that we’re losing our minds. Perhaps we feel that we’ve already reached our potential, we’ve accomplished all that we can, or there’s no more left for us to successfully achieve. To this, I would respond, “What are you currently doing for yourself? What are you doing that is in line with your purpose—your chosen set of life aims? Are you getting the rest that you need? When was the last time that you exercised for a few minutes? Are you practicing mindfulness?” And ask yourself these things with love, not with judgement or shame.
Sometimes, we may forget that we never reach a point in this life where we have all the knowledge we want and have experienced everything we want to. We forget that we are a work in progress. With that being said, we can do the unthinkable—and it starts with our purpose as our foundation. With a solid base, we may continuously grow by practically applying these principles to our daily life, and frequently revisiting these principles because we are indeed a work in progress, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Doing so can allow us to flourish, leading to an “optimal range of human functioning,” which will truly allow us to do the unthinkable.