Andrew Conway

In 2012 I was a professional rugby player for Leinster in Dublin, with what looked like a promising career ahead.

In reality, I was barely holding on.

I had the ability.

What I didn’t have was the resilience, grit or clarity that would increase the chances of success.

Talent wasn’t the issue. Awareness was.

21 years old and struggling to fit in and progress professionally at Leinster, I went against all the advice, and made the decision to move down to Munster. There was a deep internal draw to make the move that was hard to explain to others, but obvious to me. I just had to trust it.

Year 1 in Munster was tough though. I was still stuck in previous patterns of behavior and had very little positive impact on the pitch. Coming in to the last year of that 2 year contract, I knew I had not earned the trust of my team mates or coaches yet.

There were two options.

1Option 1: Continue operating as I was and hope talent was enough to have a decent but un-fullfilling career.

2Option 2: Take total ownership and accountability. Decide, that no matter the outcome, I am going to give every ounce of myself in the pursuit of my potential.

Thankfully I chose option 2.

I opened my eyes and started paying attention. Attention to my thoughts. Attention to my daily behaviors. Attention to those around me. Attention to the possibilities.

The decision to move away, alongside the decision 12 months later to take total responsibility and ownership, sprinkled with a healthy youthful ignorance, was a major turning point in both my professional and personal trajectory. Better late than never!

Within 3-4 months.

Motivation increased. Agency was introduced. Daily performance stabilized. Trajectory shifted.

But the biggest shift wasn’t external.

It was internal.

How I saw myself shifted. Who I wanted to spend time with changed. I became acutely aware and protective of energy.

However, it didn’t come without costs.

Relationships with important people were affected. Social connections took a back seat. Mistakes were made.

Ultimately, the way I saw it was, to make radical changes, radical action was required.

I can either stay the same, get similar outcomes but safely be what people expect me to be.

Or, I can step into the unknown and see what happens. With a cautious confidence that at least I’ll be proud of who looks back at me in the mirror.

It wasn’t easy, but I am incredibly proud to have turned my career around, playing for Munster and Ireland at the highest level over the next 10 years.

14 years as a professional rugby player with Leinster, Munster, Ireland. 30 caps, and a top performer at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

The un-intentional, but most welcome by product?

Becoming the man that my wife, and now children deserve.