Alex Baur '17 Recruiting Profile

Philosophy of Life

My junior year was a turning point in my life. For the first time ever, I dismissed the advice of trusted counselors and family members and placed faith in myself. That year looked very daunting on paper because I planned to take 5 AP classes and to play varsity football, basketball, and baseball. Everyone advised me that I would have to sacrifice something. I am not the type of person to quit. Why did I have to give up anything? At that point, I made a determined commitment to myself. In what was the most important decision in my life so far, I ignored all the criticism and negative input I was receiving. I embarked on a philosophical journey that has changed me forever.

Everything I had learned about life was called into question throughout this difficult year. At the beginning of the year I was stressed about everything, big or small, in my life. I soon realized that I needed to change my mental approach on life or my physical and mental well being would suffer. My new philosophy began to take shape through the fall when I was playing football. My football team was very talented and I was undersized which made playing very difficult. I decided to care less about playing and more about mastering the skills of my position. This approach requires patience because to stay motivated I had to believe that my hard work would be rewarded in the end. Of all my teammates, I improved the most and became a starter thanks to my new mindset. The foundation for my new philosophy was to focus less on the end results in life and more on the process. The stress in my life dramatically decreased because I was not worried about failing in the end, but only on improving my own skills. I believed that if I put one foot in front of the other, my hard work would eventually pay off. My baseball coach encouraged this mindset. He taught me to live in the present, to never look back on previous mistakes or too far into the future. If I had focused on every one of my mistakes, I would never have made it through that year. Similarly, if I would have focused on what I had to accomplish in the future, I would have been overwhelmed. Instead, I lived in the present and was committed to the small tasks at hand. By focusing on each small task leading towards a larger goal, I could accomplish all that I had committed to achieving. I finished the year with a sense of pride and satisfaction, but more importantly with a philosophy of life that will see me through all the future challenges I embrace. This life philosophy will allow me to flourish even when I am dealt a very difficult task. Working hard, believing in oneself, and living life in the present has made my life much more enjoyable which is why my philosophy of life is my greatest accomplishment. I am so thankful to all the coaches, family, and friends who have helped me see life more clearly because now I can face the next chapter of my journey with a renewed energy.