Imperfectly Perfect Is Enough

The college sports community was shaken to its core with the recent tragic passing of Stanford soccer captain and goalkeeper Katie Meyer. Meyer, a 22-year-old senior who led the Cardinal to the 2019 national championship, was found dead of suicide in her on-campus residence earlier this month.

Our Daily Coach team sends its heartfelt and deepest condolences to her family, friends and teammates. We have written candidly about the importance of dismantling the stigma around mental health and investing in strategies that prioritize the well-being and self-care of ourselves and those we lead. No matter one’s age, status or past achievements, every suicide is an immeasurable and shattering tragedy.

Meyer’s teammates, family and friends celebrated and honored her as an innate leader and trailblazer whose beaming and radiant smile symbolized how she led her life.

The week of Katie’s passing, her grieving parents, Gina and Steven Meyer, gave an emotional interview on NBC’s “TODAY” show in hopes of bringing meaningful conversations and awareness around the topic of mental health. Though they said they saw “no red flags” before her death, they said that Katie “had a lot on her plate.”

These comments about the anxiety, stress and internal and external pressures to be the best resonate deeply regardless of our craft, title or age.

What if we permitted ourselves the grace to begin unlearning the behavior of playing the role of having to be perfect and having it all together? What if, instead of focusing on being perfect, we shifted our focus to being more authentic, while leaning deeper into the imperfect perfection of our uniqueness? That journey and story will always be enough.

The words “leader and coach” have adopted a new significance in today’s age. With the sacred responsibility of leading ourselves and others, we are in the business of molding, empowering and, in some cases, even saving lives.

If our strategies, culture, and consistent messaging do not instill in people that they belong and genuinely matter, we miss a precious opportunity to transform lives.

Each of our lives is unfolding in divine timing. While it might be different than we expected, that life and journey are still beautiful and enough no matter what season we are going and growing through. There is always beauty and discovery in the madness, confusion and unknown.

Our Daily Coach team is grateful that you are here. As leaders and positive difference-makers, we must all remain mindful of realizing depression, anxiety and other mental health issues and illnesses do not have a look. We are all battling something that another person knows absolutely nothing about.

That’s why treating ourselves and everyone we meet and serve with dignity, grace, and compassion is now more important than ever in these rapidly-changing times.

If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.

You are seen. You are appreciated. You are loved. You are valued. You are enough.

It is okay not to have it all figured out on this journey. It's okay not to be okay. Life is a marathon. In time, you will emerge from this storm different from the person who first encountered it. Recognize that these moments of enlightenment, self-discovery, and transformation — no matter the days, weeks, months, and years it takes — become the beauty of life.