By Dallas Fox

You wake up to your alarm going off. You roll over, tired, and look outside — it’s still dark. Then you check your phone: it’s 5:30 in the morning. Just like every day, you have practice.

When that alarm goes off and you’re lying there, it takes commitment and discipline to get up. This is one of the many lessons you learn from playing sports, and if you take it seriously, it can have a life-changing impact on how you live your life. You have to be willing to do the same thing when it comes to work — even when it’s early morning and you don’t want to get up, or when it feels repetitive. You have to get up to live the life you want and to provide for yourself and your family.

Sports do much more than build commitment and discipline. You also learn communication skills. When you’re on a team, everyone has to be on the same page for the big picture to work. The way to accomplish this is by talking about what you see and hear — whether that’s communicating where a teammate is, or if you have a personal event or problem that might interfere with your sport.

To be a team player, you must do these things. You also have to keep your coaches informed because you made a promise — a commitment — to that sport. It’s very similar to a job, where you have to communicate with your boss and coworkers.

When life gets hard and you face adversity, you still have to pay your dues — like going to practice and meetings — even when it’s tough. The same thing happens at your job. You’ll face personal problems that may leave you feeling down and out, but you still have to get up and go to work.

A lot of people think the hard part is just getting up and going to practice when they’re struggling, but the real battle begins when you show up and are still expected to give your best. That isn’t easy — but pushing through those moments teaches you strength. Life isn’t easy, and you’ll face all kinds of personal problems, but when you step on that field, court, track, weight room, or even into your workspace, you have to give it your all because you made a commitment to do so.

It all starts with waking up in the morning and making a choice about how you want your day to go. It’s not an easy choice, but you can — and you will — make it. When you choose to take the hits and get back up every time, you find a level of passion and self-respect you never knew you had before.

Sports are so much more than a ball, a team, a court, or a field. Sports are a gateway to your inner self and your strength. When you face adversity — balancing sports, personal life, work, and both mental and physical challenges — and you come out on top, you feel like you can accomplish your wildest dreams. That’s because you chose to wake up and chase them, day after day.

So to all my athletes — those overperforming, underperforming, doing great things, or just struggling — give yourself a pat on the back. Remember that you are strong enough to accomplish your goals and climb that hill another day.