If you are a Mooloolaba local, you would have tasted the delightful coffee by “Hustle n Flow”, located just underneath the surf club. The takeaway cups and location make it the perfect excuse… or opportunity, to grab a coffee before work, or while you’re on your morning walk, or if you just want to sit on the bench and watch the ocean lap at the shore. Whether it be in the hustle, or the flow, the coffee finds a way to draw your senses back into the present moment, from the very first sip.
Now I was thinking about this concept, and how it can relate to my life as a sportsperson. The athlete life is full of hustle and flow. While social media seems to shed more light on the flow of life, almost like a highlight reel, the reality is, that this is not always the case.
Take the volleyball skill of setting for instance. When the pass is perfect, your job as the setter is smooth, simple, and all flow. Then when you’re dealt with a difficult pass, or from a defensive play, it’s all hustle. However, in both situations there is a split instance when your hands contact the ball, that time slows down and you are completely and utterly in the moment. Purely focussed on the target and your action on the ball. The point being, that your job as the setter remains the same, no matter the situation – to better the ball and deliver a set that allows your partner to attack from a position of strength. Its important to stay with your action on the ball. To savour it, to follow through with it until its completed. Otherwise your set might not hit its desired target.
Take the volleyball skill of setting for instance. When the pass is perfect, your job as the setter is smooth, simple, and all flow. Then when you’re dealt with a difficult pass, or from a defensive play, it’s all hustle. However, in both situations there is a split instance when your hands contact the ball, that time slows down and you are completely and utterly in the moment. Purely focussed on the target and your action on the ball. The point being, that your job as the setter remains the same, no matter the situation – to better the ball and deliver a set that allows your partner to attack from a position of strength. Its important to stay with your action on the ball. To savour it, to follow through with it until its completed. Otherwise your set might not hit its desired target.
How often do we get caught up in what we’ve already done or what we have yet to do, all while missing what is right in front of us. That without paying the most attention to our current intention, we may miss our future targets. Just like in setting, just like in the moment of having a coffee, and just like in life, whether we are hustling or flowing, let’s make sure that whatever we put our hands to, is done in the spirit of being present.
Thanks for having coffee with me,
Caitlin xx
Caitlin xx