Antony Gordon, the host of The Antony Gordon Show, amongst many other accomplishments, created a company called L.A.S.T-Life After Sports Transition. L.A.S.T was founded as the culmination of years of representing professional athletes in numerous capacities and the heart break Antony was privy to when most of these athletes were unable to adapt to their new life when their professional playing days ended.
"It's exceedingly difficult to go from basking in the spotlight to anonymity. The identity crisis that follows is devastating to many of these athletes and is often the catalyst to them making poor decisions in an attempt to become relevant again in the eyes of the public. The core of the problem is that many of these athletes never develop their internal world and never create an identity other than as a 'Laker' or 'Former Boxing Champion.' When injury or natural aging brings their pro career to an end, the harsh reality is that they realize their lives were off balance, and their entire identity was associated with their athleticism," notes Antony.
The topic of developing an identity that is not correlated to public accolades and is broader than simply being a number on a jersey was a large part of the discussion that Antony engaged in with Gabby Reece, one of the most renown volleyball players in America, when Gabby was recently a guest on The Antony Gordon Show. While the struggle of professional athletes reacclimating to life after their athletic career ends is relevant to only a small fraction of the population, Gabby and Antony discussed a phenomenon that has many similar characteristics but is germane to millions of people in the social media world that we live in-i.e. allowing one's self-worth and identity to be swayed by "likes" and the number of followers and virtual friends one possesses.
The concern Antony articulated on the episode with Gabby is the fact that social media has resulted in an entire generation becoming passive and the self-worth of millions, primarily millennials and Gen Z, has become synonymous with a fictitious community, filled with people who are themselves looking for affirmations from strangers. So, what is the proposed solution? The straight tall that Antony shared with his listeners, is to "stop following the crowd who are mindlessly following pop trends; figure out your unique skills and strengths; set realistic goals and stop trying to impress people that don't really care." Quite the food for thought.
