Inward Athlete Journal: Preparing for Your Next Season of Life

Join me this week in celebrating that the first journal of the Inward Athlete collection will be released into the world and in the hands of athletes.

THIS Saturday, November 6th!

This journal is a sacred space.

It is the bridge between performance and presence. 

When I first began doing research as a professor and working alongside athletes as an interfaith chaplain, transformational mentor, and poet, and storyteller, I saw the same questions surfacing beneath the surface of the game.

These questions weren’t just about performance, they were very human questions.

What’s left when the season ends?

Who am I when I’m not performing?

How do I fill this void that can’t be filled?

What do I do with this grief (confusion, sadness, and anger)? 

As someone who spent years writing poetry and reflecting on my own narrative, to stay alive inside my own seasons of change, I recognized the ache.

I knew the power of having something to turn to. 

To pause, reflect, write, and return home to myself.

After watching myself and many athletes I have worked with and spoken to carry pressure, expectation, injury, transition...I wanted to help hold some of that weight. 

Not by fixing it (I learned as a hospital chaplain that this is impossible, nor needed), but by offering space for the inside game, the game that really matters in the end.

The journal didn’t happen overnight. It was built page by page, moment by moment, pillar by pillar, born of early mornings, handwritten notes, teachings from mentors and from hospital rooms, late-night poetry sessions, and years of listening to people tell stories of loss, triumph, identity, and rebirth.

I designed it with intention:

- Six transformational pillars to guide transformation 

- A ritual-building guide for rest, grief, and growth

- Prompts for deep inner clarity

- A place to hold your story that is both sacred and the real

Every page is a reminder: You are not a machine. You are a soul with hopes, fears, and dreams. A space just for you. This journal is not about answering the questions. It’s about letting yourself live the questions.

It’s about making room for emotions that don’t fit the game plan.

It’s about being seen and held in your victories and your vulnerabilities.

Over time, I came to believe: that an inward athlete isn’t just the person who performs with heart. It’s the person who knows their heart is worth performing for. If you’re ready to meet yourself differently, to build a life where inner strength guides outer success, and to feel accompanied in your becoming, then this journal is for you and athletes you know.

Preparing Your Next Season of Life

Join me in this movement to honor the athlete within and the soul that wants to create, breathe, explore, feel, write, unravel, and rise.

Pre-order The Inward Athlete Journal: Preparing Your Next Season of Life now until November 6.

Your inward season begins now. 

-Dr. Jennifer Gellock, Founder of Inward Athlete