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The story of Josh Hamilton has been told and re-told so many times this season that most of us could probably write up a nice post about it. Well, finally we have something written by Josh, in his own words and I absolutely encourage you to check it out:
I GET cravings sometimes, and I see it as the devil trying to catch me in a weak moment. The best thing I can do is get the thought out of my mind as soon as I can, so it doesn't turn into an obsession. When it happens, I talk to him. I talk to the devil and say, "These are just thoughts, and I'm not going to act on them." When I talk like that, when I tell him he's not going to get the best of me, I find the thought goes away sooner.
This article very well could have been the best thing I've read all week. I think, in one way or another, most of us know someone who has had a problem with an addiction or been around someone with an addiction. It is something that can tear families apart and ruin lives. While it seems that twice a day you hear about a celebrity entering 'rehab' as a way to look cool, it is not a 'cool' place to be.
Life is a funny thing. It never, never goes as you plan it to. You can set out to have all these high hopes and aspirations to do great things and then for one reason or another, you never reach those goals. Well, this is an article about a man who had all the potential in the world, who faced a lot of pressure....and failed. He was able to get back up though and while he may be a couple of years behind in his initial plan, he's worked hard to get where he is.
As you can see from the quote above by Hamilton, it's not a battle that just goes away. Every day, maybe every minute and certainly every time he enters a new city; Hamilton must remind himself to stay clean and sober.
While there have been a lot of instances where the media 'glorifies' athletes for doing something good after initially making a bad decision, I think Hamilton deserves all the applause he receives as he comes to bat each night.
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Great point; being free of addiction doesn't mean the voices go away, it just means you learn that they don't have to control you anymore. Nice post!
that's right McBias... tell everyone about the voices in your head!
McBias' voices tell him to google greek women's basketball teams. As addictions go, it's not the worst.
Sorry, I was gone all weekend and missed the comment by MCBias (MCB capitalized!!). I kind of feel the need to say that I've never been addicted to anything but had someone very close to me be an addict. There is a point where when you look in their eyes you just know that something is talking to them and trying to get them to do something they really don't want to do. That's why I put up that particular quote.
I'm impressed by the way Hamilton is being upfront about all of this and willing to talk about it. It's as if he's trying to educate people as to what happens....and that it's possible to beat.
Oh man, I try to be a little educational and sympathetic, and I get jumped by Boney in the comment section. Boney was just waiting until the Tigers were first in the division, too, wasn't he? Figures, ha.