ARE YOU HURT OR INJURED??

Are you hurt or are you injured?

During practice if a player falls, I simply blow the whistle and simply ask, "Are you hurt or injured?" Often times players respond, "I'm cool" and I immediately inform them that it's not what I asked them. "Coach, what's the difference?"

The difference between being hurt and being injured is simply a condition where there is a substantial amount of physical and/or emotional pain versus a condition of being impaired or tarnished. No matter how strong some of us appear or claim to be we all will have to endure some emotional and physical pain. It's not a matter of "if", it's simply a matter of "when". Often times on our journey we experience pain en route to achieving our short and long-term goals. Often times we use these very setbacks as the scapegoat for failure reach our goals when in all actuality it's the interpretation of pain as a reality and how we choose to rebound from it. In short, being hurt is a condition that we can play through while being injured is a situation we must will ourselves out of.

A week before Christmas 2010, I had foot surgery that was long overdue. While most would complain about the pain of the actual surgery the pain wasn't the issue. After all, pain is temporary. I surprisingly found the whole experience to be very insightful form surgery to recovery. Yes, I'm injured but being on this injured reserved list without question has been a moment of clarity. I've had the chance to see what life is like being physically challenged for a significant amount of time. Quite honestly, I'm actually extremely grateful for the experience. I'm grateful that I was able to take care of a health problem that I put off way too long. I'm grateful for the opportunity to get some time to get some much needed rest. I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity to experience a glimpse of what physically challenged people prepare for and endure on a daily basis. Most importantly, I'm grateful that I had some time to spend reflecting on how blessed I really have been throughout my life.

By virtue of being injured, I'm more organized, punctual, intentional, mindful, patient, focused and most importantly, more determined. Being on the injured reserved list has awakened a sleeping giant within that is more competitive and tenacious than before. If I had a choice, I'd rather be injured. Being injured puts things in High Definition with Bose Surround Sound and makes you realize how blessed you are to have the gifts God gave you.

If we, in fact, consider ourselves to be champions we must realize that our opponents are there to beat us. Often times they'll play dirty physically other times they'll trash talk and try to get us out of our game. Sometimes, they'll succeed in inflicting pain on us but we determine if we are able to play through the pain because we're hurt or if we will ask for help to rehab from being injured.

The only time we suffer a career-ending injury is when we allow ourselves to give up.

So I ask again, Are you hurt or are you injury?

REBOUND.RESET.RELEASE.