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Preparing for the afterlife
Between 18 seasons in F1, Lewis Hamilton often finds himself in the same room as legends. Some come from other unusual industries, such as film, music, and fashion. As Hamilton becomes his winningest F1 driver of all time, he has become increasingly relatable. And we have a lot of people from other major sports participating as well. He found that, especially with older athletes nearing retirement, the conversation eventually cycled back to the topic of preparing for the afterlife.
Not exactly death. But life after sports. “I've talked to a lot of great athletes, from Boris Becker to Serena Williams and even Michael Jordan,” says Hamilton, now 39. “When I talk to some of the greats that I've met along the way, retired or still playing, I get this fear of what's going to happen next, of not being ready for what's next. Many of them said, “I quit too soon.'' Or: “I stayed too long.” “I didn't have any plans when it was over.” “My whole world had come crashing down because my whole life was in that sport.”
“Some of them were like, 'I didn't have a plan, and then I got really lost, so it was a little bit of a problem.' There was this hole. Such a void. And I had no idea how to fill it in. And I was in such a hurry at first. to Try packing the wrong thing. And you make some mistakes. And in the end you find your own path. ” Some took longer. Some people took it shorter. But it got my mind thinking: So I got serious about finding other things I was passionate about. ”
Hamilton, whose parents divorced when he was a toddler and began racing at the age of eight, spent the first half of his life driven by one thing. “If you win races, you'll be recognized in this world.'' For a working-class kid who grew up on a council estate in north London, it was that single-minded intention that took him to unimaginable heights in the world of motorsport. lead. His seven individual world championship wins in F1 are tied with Michael Schumacher for the most. Eight team titles and 103 Grand Prix wins with Mercedes placed him in class 1. But it wasn't until later that Hamilton finally felt comfortable channeling the parts of himself he had suppressed in his full-time pursuit of racing into other creative realms. That pursuit, rather than detracting from his racing career, actually improved his performance on the track, led him to be more purposeful towards the latter part of his life, and ultimately fueled his soul. It might energize you.
“When I first got into F1, it was just waking up in the morning, training, racing, racing, racing and racing, nothing else. There's no space for anything else. But when I… What I realized was that I couldn't be happy just by continuing to work, I needed to find balance in my life. And I realized that I was actually quite unhappy.” I did. “There was so much missing, but I had so much more. And it was crazy, because I was feeling like: I'm in F1 and I've achieved my dream. , I'm where I always wanted to be, I'm at the top, I'm fighting for a championship. But I wasn't and I wasn't having fun.”