"If you’re thinking too much about the future or this is what I want to achieve and you’re stuck in that future, you lose sight of what needs to be done now," star midfielder Shaun Higgins told True North.
The pressure of the modern day world can creep up on us, without us even realising.
Through his time as a professional athlete, with the addition of life experience, Higgins believes focusing on the now is key.
“I think you've got to strip that back and go ‘what do I need to do right now?’ and that’s something I’ve been able to do since I’ve grown older and [more] experienced, not just in football but in life,” he said.
“The goals, dreams and ambitions are great to fantasise and dream about, that’s good, and then bring yourself back, ‘okay what do I need to do now?’, and I think that’s the biggest lesson that I’ve learnt over 13 or 14 years of playing.”
Higgins said placing unrealistically high expectations on ourselves can prove a massive hurdle.
“It comes back to the question, if you’re the best version of yourself what would that look like? And if you’re able to continually bring that back to the answer right now, it will give you a clear outcome and guide to what you need to do,” he said.
“You get caught up in it or you buy into those expectations and I think that’s where some people get unstuck and I was like that.
“I mean the form (playing footy) and also injuries that I had, I was carrying this weight of expectation.
“The pressure particularly that our young guys go through now, and hopefully I can pass on some experience around that, because those pressures no doubt play a part and you probably don’t realise it at the time.
“We need to create an environment where those younger guys, particularly here [at North Melbourne], that when they come into it they feel like they’ve got the time to turn into the footballer that they are.
“I got drafted when I was 17 and really probably played my best footy when I was 30. And then we expect these young guys to come in at 17, 18 now 19 [years-old] and if they’re not turning games on in the first two or three years we say that they’re no good.”
