Purpose is what keeps you grounded when the plans fall apart

This past year has been a lesson in what happens when strategy meets reality.

Four sports injuries in one year, each one carefully planned for, each plan shattered anyway.

Every time, I thought I had the perfect strategy, the right rehab exercises, the right mindset, the perfect timeline for returning. But no matter how detailed the plan was, life always had its own version.

I’m someone who loves structure, who loves to map out the next step. When all of that collapsed, it felt like I had nothing left to hold onto.

What I’ve learned is that strategy means nothing without purpose.

When everything fell apart, what grounded me wasn’t another plan, it was rediscovering my why.

I realized that my purpose isn’t defined by results or numbers. It’s found in the way I impact others. In how I show up for my teammates even when I can’t compete. In how I keep learning, listening, and giving everything I have to the people around me.

And that mindset has carried over far beyond the field.

I’m taking a media law class this semester, one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken, and I’ve fallen in love with it. The First Amendment fires me up in the same way competing once did. I studied for over 40 hours for the midterm. I was all in, driven by the thrill of the challenge.

And when I left the exam room, I felt like I’d been knocked off my feet. I cried the entire night.

The next day, I remembered what these injuries taught me: you can’t control outcomes, but you can control your persistence.

You can either sit in the disappointment or get up and do something about it. The decision is yours.

Resilience isn’t about never falling. It’s about rediscovering your why when you do.

I’ve started calling this my separation season — the quiet, in-between space where success isn’t visible but growth is happening underneath. Sometimes, I think God places us in those seasons on purpose. When the noise fades and the plans crumble, His voice gets clearer.

And every time I get knocked down, whether in athletics, academics, or life, I come back to the same truth:

Purpose is what keeps you grounded when plans fall apart.