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Addiction isn't about substance - you aren't addicted to the substance, you are addicted to the alteration of mood that the substance brings.

- Susan Cheever

I really like drinking Gatorade. At its core, it's just a bunch of sugar and water that tastes really good. I've been hooked on Gatorade for awhile. One time I went to the gas station and picked up this Gatorade. It was the first time I really took a moment to notice their slogan: Is it in you?

Is it in you.

What is it that they're referring to? When you start digging inside of yourself and unfold and unlock your greatness, sometimes things are going to surface that might seem so great.

Last year I did a tour with 'Athletes in Action' during the Grey Cup week. We were in Vancouver delivering speeches and helping out. We took a trip to a mens' addition centre. Now, most of these men were addicted to some kind of drug or substance abuse. As we went to this place, one of the guys leading told me he wanted me to speak. The whole time I was sitting there I thought, “why me?". I had no idea how I could relate to these guys. I wasn't an alcoholic nor had I ever been on drugs.

Then it hit me – I got a word. I was a little nervous to deliver this speech because I didn’t know if - or who - I would offend. But I said, “Guys, we are all in here because we have an addiction. W have something inside of us that some might look at as a problem. But here’s the thing: I don’t look at it as a problem. What is in you is part of you. So if it’s a problem to me, then that means that you're a problem and I don’t think you're a problem. Having an addictive personality is not the problem. It's what you do with it; what you do with the things that are inside of you are going to determine where you end up. I don’t know what you’ve done with your addictive personality but whatever you have done has led you to be in here. What I have done with my addictive personality has also led me to be in here. I'm addicted to hitting people. I played football. I put on pads that are supposed to protect but they're actually used as a weapon when I run full speed into people bigger or smaller than myself. And my aim is to hurt them. My aim is pain and my aim is to win. I’m addicted to hitting and winning. Here’s the thing: in a public environment, if I were to run down the street and hit somebody, I'm probably going to go to jail. So it's not the addictive personality that is hindering me, but rather what I do with it."

Think about it.

So I continued, saying, “you’ve got addictive personalities and there’s no way you can move around that. You’ve got some kind of affinity or passion to do something. You're probably doing something that’s not too good, and that's why you’re in here. So I don’t want you to stop being addictive, but rather I want you to do the right thing with that addictive personality. You can transfer that same mentality into a business or into changing the world. You can transfer that same addiction into doing good deeds for someone. You'd still be an addict – but now you’re addicted to changing the world for the better.

So as you're digging these seeds of greatness inside of you, you're figuring out who you really are. I want you to understand where to apply who you are. You may be a person who's been in tons of relationships and have gotten your heart broken because you loved intensely and someone abused it. You were not wrong for that. Should you love less in your next relationship? No! Keep going. Otherwise, you aren't being true to yourself.

When you know you have a particular trait – a kind of characteristic – take it where it will be appreciated. I took it to the field. I also took it to the classrooms. I love taking people to a higher level. Take your passion to the area it will be most effective. Take it to that place where it can be used for greatness. 

#GetAfterIt

 

-JH

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