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Patrick Mahomes: The Secret Behind the Arm

Patrick Mahomes: The Secret Behind the Arm

Patrick Mahomes has not so much appeared in football as erupted into it — suddenly and spectacularly — from beneath its cleat-chewed turf.

Perhaps that’s more pyrotechnics than this 23-year-old professional athlete could stomach. He’s a cool customer, after all, with little interest in showboating. But while he may react to a touchdown pass with characteristic reserve, the rest of us watching are so excited that we feel like we’re about to burst into flames.

Mahomes’ abilities begin to make sense upon further inspection, though. The first and most obvious feature that sets him apart from others is his arm, a versatile slingshot with sniper-like precision. Of course, plenty of people have a good arm.

Mahomes truly stands apart in his ability to focus and assess the field in the height of battle, when teammates are dashing in every direction and 1,500 pounds of opponents are hurtling toward him. Then he’ll turn, flick the ball like he’s skipping a stone, and land a 30-yard pass deep into enemy territory. At moments like these, it’s as if the cool, experienced mind of an older player is trapped inside the spritely frame of a younger one.

Mahomes glows with self-belief. He claims to never watch highlight reels of himself to boost his confidence, but rather draws strength from the conviction that nothing will stop him if he doesn’t allow it to. It is this stoic faith in his own ability to improve that we witness on our screens, and it is probably this which truly inspires us.

What can we take away from watching Patrick Mahomes play football?
We are drawn to his level of ability not so much for the ability itself as for the self-assurance that underlies it. All of the factors that keep a player like Mahomes landing passes are rooted in this confidence, and it is exactly what makes a former athletic career such a valuable asset.

The thing is, Mahomes is a confident human in a field full of confident humans. A sports career doesn’t happen without some degree of self-confidence — a fact any professional athlete would understand. What sometimes goes underappreciated is how this same confidence can translate perfectly to other careers. For all the time athletes spend improving upon a particular skill set, they’re simultaneously developing a much stronger sense of self-reliance than is endowed upon the rest of the world.

So the next time you watch Patrick Mahomes throw a football, pay attention to what matters most: the confidence he has in himself, and what you can do with your own confidence.

Retired From Sports is here to help former athletes ace their retirement and begin an exciting new phase. We offer athlete consulting, retirement planning, and business consultation. Confidence is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what former athletes have to offer, but it’s one of the biggest advantages they possess. So let us help you knock your ideas out of the park.