Giannis Antetokounmpo and presence in the present

When you focus on the past, that’s your ego… And when I focus on the future it’s my pride. — Giannis Antetokounmpo

During the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, I allowed myself far more time than I would have expected of myself to enjoy the simpler things. Whether this was hobbies such as running or writing, getting to books I had held off on reading up until that point, or most importantly for the purpose of this piece being able to enjoy Netflix Originals.

Formula One Drive to Survive led me to love the sport and more specifically all things Danny Ricciardo. While the Last Dance drew me into the realm of the NBA, of which last year I unsuspectingly decided to support the Milwaukee Bucks due to the inspirational story of their most pivotal player the aforementioned Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Now I know what the reader will say, that I began to support this club due to the fact they were going to win a Championship that year. However, as I am sure any Bucks fan will tell you, their success that season was far from assured right down to the final minute. This lack of assurance as to the possibilities of the future is something that Giannis was also forced to deal with throughout most of his life.

Giannis was born in the city of Athens to Nigerian parents who had moved from their home in Lagos some three years earlier. Forced to leave their eldest son behind under the care of his Grandparents, they sought to make a new life for Giannis and his older brother Thanasis. As immigrants, they struggled to find work, which meant that the two brothers had to try and support their family by selling watches, handbags, and sunglasses to tourists.

To compound the issues faced by the family, they were left effectively stateless due to the principle of jus sanguinis. This meant that citizenship was based on the ethnicity of his parents and as such for the first eighteen years of his life, Giannis could not travel outside of the country due to the fact he had no papers from either Greece or Nigeria.

Despite this difficult upbringing Giannis had been able to pursue the sport he loved while also providing financial assistance to his family. He began playing basketball in 2007 and was soon playing at such a high level to warrant the attention of the NBA. In 2013 Giannis finally received Greek citizenship less than two months before the NBA draft, where he duly joined the Milwaukee Bucks as a first-round pick being selected fifteenth overall in the draft.

From here Giannis’ career began an upward trajectory which truly culminated in his Championship winning year. Making his debut at 18 years and 311 days old, he enjoyed one of the youngest NBA debuts in history. From there he propelled the Bucks forward, with year-on-year improvements, leading to their NBA Championship victory which was the first time the Bucks had won a Championship in fifty years.

Yet this is not the true focus of this piece, rather I would prefer to focus on the interviews Giannis gave in the build-up to this unprecedented victory and also the way he handled this success so graciously.

Just prior to an immensely important Game 5 Giannis aged 26 was asked how he dealt with the immensity of his achievements at such a relatively young age. His response was inspiring and echoed the Stoic sentiments expressed by others from his birthplace of Greece. Wherein his past achievements constitute his ego and an undue fixation upon the future would make up his pride.

This ties into Stoicism as all we truly have at any given moment is the present, the past is gone and the future remains an uncertainty of which we can never truly be sure of what yet awaits us. Our past deeds should not be fixated upon, rather we must focus on the here and now, what we have some bearing upon and can control. Likewise, the future should never be dwelt upon as it robs us of the true enjoyment of the present and brings us little solace should our imagined fate not turn out the way we wish for.

The question we must always ask of ourselves is what are we doing in any given moment, to improve upon the person we were yesterday, to make the lives of others better, or in pursuit of some truly worthy goal. No matter how difficult our past may have been or how uncertain and borderline terrifying our future may seem, we can do so much at any given moment not only for ourselves but also for all those around us who may depend upon us without our realization of such.

Giannis to have reached the position he is in now, having maintained a virtuous and humble character acts as inspiration in the pursuit of such an aim. To truly be in the present, the point at which we are more alive than at any other given moment is a gift in and of itself. Therefore following on from the advice of a true superstar in the making it is imperative that we turn our focus to what deserves our fullest attention. Without the comfort, we find in dwelling on past glories or the excuses that lay in a boundless future.

Fear not for the future, Weep not for the past. — Percy Bysshe Shelley

Likewise, our past failings, the feeling of almost having attained some goal or having lost something which we once deemed so vital, cannot be allowed to hinder us. Our lives are far too important and far too fleeting to waste time lamenting what could have been or even what will be. To live is a gift while to live virtuously is the duty bestowed upon all of us. I discussed this in a previous piece that it is asked of us all as members of a greater whole to make this world better while we can and maintaining a steady footing in the present is the only way to live up to such a momentous responsibility.

This also ties into the Stoic principle of Memento Mori, in that we could leave this life at any given moment and as a result, we should live accordingly. To live each moment fully as if it were our last, to enjoy to its utmost the simple beauty of existing in what is truly a wonderful world. While simultaneously fulfilling our obligations, balancing the ledger each evening so that if we were to fall into a slumber from which we never emerge, we could do so knowing we had made the most of our time here.

Since every man dies, it is better to die with distinction than to live long. — Musonius Rufus

Likewise, it is important not to place too much emphasis on the future, life is a journey and the destination is a secondary element so enjoy the chaotic beauty of this world while you can. Furthermore, this feeds into Giannis’ words that to focus on the future is folly. All we have at any given moment is the present so make the most of it.

Never allow yourself to fall into the trap of allowing yourself to believe that you are better served in leaving the required toil and graft to achieve these aims and a better vision of yourself until the coming day. All of us will have to grapple with this at some stage, but that tomorrow may never come.

Giannis at such a young age displays so much of the maturity, humility, and strength of character, that are the true hallmarks of such a life well-lived. He inspires so many others by his actions, his outlook, and his approach to life, even without mentioning the immensity of his achievements to date. By focusing on the present, silencing his ego, and grappling with his pride, Giannis has lifted himself out of what was a far-from-ideal situation and created a present situation in which he can draw out the best version of himself.

The fact he could do so by the precocious age of 26 can be viewed as inspirational and also unfortunately by many as indicating that they should have found this path much earlier in life. Yet this is not a slight on anyone, all of our paths differ fundamentally and we find our way in our own time. It is never too late for any of us no matter how dark or disappointing our pasts may have been.

As long as we take the time to embrace what comes our way good or ill and focus upon what we can control in that given moment, our thoughts, and our actions. Outside of this we truly fail to grasp the lessons Giannis has implemented in his journey, in what is an essentially Stoic viewpoint.

Therefore what I would like to close this piece on is that our ego and our pride hold us back from who we must be and to fulfill our responsibilities they must be grappled with. The only way of truly doing so is in following Giannis’ example only focusing on the here and now, on what we can control rather than far-off possibilities or the faded glint of past triumphs.

At any given moment we can turn it all around, we can create a better world for the ones we hold dear and even those strangers who make up a far-off element of our general orbit. Yet to do so we must act, we must toil and we must better ourselves. However, this can only be done in the present so take up this call to action now and become the best version of yourself possible. You never know it might just change the world for the better and there is only one way to find out.

You owe it to yourself and to the world to actively engage with the brief moment you have with this planet. You cannot retreat exclusively into ideas. You must contribute. — Ryan Holiday