by eric d.graham
According to the scripture, Pro. (23:7)“as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” With that said, let’s analyze the psychological term known as IMPOSTER SYNDROME, which is an obsessive internalization of a persistent fear that you are going to be found out to be a fraud, or the collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.
We see this in the world of sports, entertainment, academics and in the professional world, where one struggles with the idea that they are not good enough or incompetent. For instances, we have all seen the quarterbacks, Black or Caucasian, struggle with this concept after throwing an interception, making a bad read, or losing a big game. Especially, if he was drafted as the #1 overall draft pick or selected in the first round.
Usually, these players suffer from a bad case of self-doubt, which is fueled after reading their own press. Whether on-line, via twitter and Facebook accounts. Or, by simply listening to an endless amount of talk-radio, or even worst, watching the 24-hour loop of roundtable discussion on YouTube, from ESPN and FoxSports analysts, who question their greatness, salaries, and existence in the league.
SEE, begin a professional athlete can be a lonely journey, despite all the glitz and glamour. As a result, many, especially, those, who play the QB position in the NFL, start feeling, as if, they don’t belong or are unqualified to be under center. So, after a few bad games, many of them find their confidence and self-esteem shattered within two years, subjugated to a back-up status within three and out of the league after five, where they are forgotten by the “fans” and replaced by the next round of college athletes in the upcoming draft, who will be praised and viewed as the saviors of the franchise.
With all of this pressure, many players start developing (NEGATIVE SELF TALK), while becoming obsessed with being validated by others, second guessing themselves, questioning their identity, losing themselves to a point of delusion by the way of social and political isolation, forcing themselves to total assimilate, through inter-racial marriages in order to survive or co-exist in the unwelcomed, emotional, judgmental, stressful, racially charged environment known as the NFL, where some become depressed, which leads to substance abuse issues, (cocaine, steroids, pain pills, alcohol, marijuana) And, in the worst case jail time for committing a crime.
Along with all of this, psychologically, many Black players also may experience bouts of RACIAL BATTLE FATIGUE, a concept coined by William Smith, which attempted to address the issues Black students face while trying to survive in the toxic atmosphere of Higher Education within the “White” University school system, where they must be 3X better than their White counterparts. Even though, there is not a level playing field. For this reason, Racial Battle Fatigue has been compared to post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by military soldiers, who have been bombarded with the stresses of dealing in chronic hostile environments. In the case of the Black athlete, however, the constant stresses of “being the first fired; last hired” haunts their psyche, as well as, the constant verbal abuse coming from coaches and fans, which can be racially charged, where one is often seen as some kind of slave, savage, toy, criminal, rapist, or Beast on the field and outside of the arena when they remove their helmets and shoulder pads by the media.
This could lead to a form of COGNITIVE DISTORTION, which means perception becomes one’s reality and a self-fulfilling prophecy, where one does exactly what one believes he would do.
This is why all of the players in the NFL must read Romans 12:2, which states: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
So, to all of those young signal callers, as well as veteran QB's, back-ups included: KEEP THE FAITH doing the playoff whether you WIN or LOSE. (bobbeethehater.blogspot.com)
