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Once you truly witness desire, you can't "unsee" it.

The thing about desire is that when you see it, it's hard to imagine a life without it.

I had the pleasure of attending a Raptors' game a few nights ago. It was game 5 of the playoff series between the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat. I caught something so phenomenal that most people with limited perspective might've missed: Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, aka the two All-Stars of the team.

If you’ve been watching the playoffs for the past few weeks, you would have noticed that both Kyle and DeMar haven't been playing at the level of expectation. They've criticized by commentators and put down by fans. Some even thought they should be benched.

Imagine that for a second. You work your entire career towards achieving a certain calibre of work only to have it scrutinized by the general public. Imagine if your thoughts, energy, lifestyle and focus were all invested into that one thing. Imagine it was something you'd dedicated your entire life to.

Now, imagine you getting the opportunity to build an actual career off of that thing. Finally, you're getting paid to do what you do, and getting paid well. You become known for that thing and even start to get a little fame. 

But then you make a few mistakes. You fumble a few games. You miss a couple shots. And suddenly the world falls apart.

In my opinion, both Kyle and DeMar are amazing basketball players. They play at a high level day in and day out. They got their teams to the playoffs. But now, because of a few mistakes or shortcomings, we didn't hesitate to turn our backs on them.

It's so quickly that seeds of doubt can turn into a forest of disbelief. 

As a former athlete, I know all too well about the shift that occurs when you're no longer given praise. Once you receive a "drought" in popularity, it seems like your mistakes are heightened. Sometimes it’s hard to get yourself out of that slump when people are doubting you constantly. It doesn’t seem like you can win.

But they're forgetting about one thing: your true desire. I didn't witness guys who were thinking about what they didn’t do right. I witnessed guys who had a desire to win. I witnessed two athletes who would do whatever it took in their power to achieve a victory. I witnessed two guys play through pain.

It was desire that fuelled them, moved them, and game them missile-like focus to propel them into victory.

So today I challenge you to pinpoint your true desire. Where is it? Has it gone? Did you ever really have it in the first place?

Yes, there will be doubters, but how will you prevail? Will you allow your desire to be amplified and take over? Will you allow it to move you? 

Or do you casually stroll through life with a list of things you kinda-sorta want to do?

I believe the desire is in you.

#GETAFTERIT

- JH

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