As
an observer of his life and career, if I were asked to play word
association for Kobe Bryant, the two descriptive terms I would choose
would be passionate and resolute. Those are traits that have come to
strongly resonate with me, characteristic as they are of the kind of
person that I strive to be every day. He inspired me, a point that I
have been ruminating on a lot these past few weeks in the wake of his
sudden passing. So, while we mourn the tragedy, I want to take this
opportunity to reflect on the traits I most associated with him, because
they were what in my mind made him great, and what made Kobe great
serves as inspiration to maximize our time on this Earth.
I
followed his entire career. He was one of those players that I will be
talking with fellow basketball enthusiasts about for the rest of my
life. When I think about Kobe, his resolute quest for greatness is the
first thing that comes to mind, not just in the game of basketball for
which he is best known, but in his life in general. His career in the
NBA was Top 10 all-time great, of course; it was his transition to his
post-basketball life, though, that I admired most. Few players in the
history of the game were as passionate about basketball as Kobe, but
when his body told him it was time to retire, he listened and then he
channeled his passion elsewhere.
To
flow gracefully from one phase of life to another, finding new ways to
positively contribute to the world, was one of Kobe’s skills that all of
us could learn. Among other endeavors, he converted the poem
(referenced below) that announced his retirement into a documentary
short that won an Academy Award, further cultivated his filmmaking
interest by opening a production company focused on increasing
diversity, developed an academy to help people unlock their full
potential, and became a much more engaged father to his kids.
Kobe
had his personal controversies, but he always tried to become a better
person because of them, and he channeled that energy right back into his
passions once re-centered in his life. Such is why perhaps no
basketball player this century is as revered by his peers, who he openly
embraced once he could turn his level of competitiveness toward them
down a notch (or eight). Getting knocked off course, only to respond
resolutely and climb to the next peak in life…that’s the key to
success. To paraphrase Kobe, everything negative in life presents
opportunities for us to rise.
I
had always quietly hoped that healthcare reform might have become of
interest to him. He was arguably the hardest working basketball player
of any first-ballot Hall of Famer, relentlessly trying to maximize his
physical potential, in the waning years of his prime through making
smarter and more innovative health choices. His extraordinarily
studious nature and distinguished reputation would have been incredible
assets to re-focusing healthcare on health and moving it beyond the dark
ages of diagnosing and treating symptoms. He would have picked apart
every flaw in the system and made everyone more aware of them, rather
sternly based on his leadership style on the court. Fellow warriors in
the fight to change the way that people think about healthcare, imagine
Kobe Bryant being on our “team.”
To
win the battle for American healthcare, we will have to overcome a
modern dynasty; the allopathic viewpoint renders the holistic movement a
comparative expansion franchise much in need of infrastructure and
influential support. Essential to our cause will be the eventual
equivalent of Kobe lobbing the alley-oop pass that Shaq dunked to push
the Lakers toward the 2000 NBA Championship, overcoming the differences
in our individual approaches to accomplish a greater collective goal.
Until then, we will have to each follow Kobe’s approach that won Game 7
of the 2010 NBA Finals, struggling as we might at times but willing ourselves ever closer to a much-needed healthcare revolution.
The
phrase that Kobe invented to describe his famous work ethic was “The
Mamba Mentality,” defined simply as the daily process of striving to be
better. For most of his 42 years, Kobe was consciously passionate about
what he was doing in his life, amplifying his successes and
contextualizing his failures, while continually earning people’s
respect. His was a life worth celebrating and emulating.
As
the clock winds down to the waning seconds of this reflection, I’ll
paraphrase from Kobe’s Oscar-winning “Dear Basketball.” No matter what
phase in life we are in, whether seeing the end of the tunnel or still
imagining what it would be like to walk out of one, no matter how many
“seasons” we have left to give, we should strive to savor every moment,
the good and the bad, all that we have, resolute in our passion to
optimize our health, our lives, and the world around us. Thanks, Kobe.
Thinking good things for you, as always,
-Dr. Chad
No comments:
Post a Comment