Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Life Advice: 'Do One Thing Every Day That You Look Forward To'

Its not too often that a 7'3" basketball legend lets the world in on his sensitive side. In a very personal op-ed recently, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reflected on his illustrious career and life as one of the greatest ever players in the NBA. Specifically, Abdul-Jabbar looked back to when he was 30 years old, having already accomplished many of his professional goals: leading scorer in the NBA, leading rebounder, leading blocker, Most Valuable Player, All-Star.

But instead of thinking of this time fondly, there are things the larger-than-life-athlete wished he'd known back then. So Abdul-Jabbar gave his 30-year-old self some advice, suggesting things he wished he'd done, like: be more outgoing; ask his family about their roots and history; listen more than talk; do one thing every day that helps someone else; learn French.

Abdul-Jabbar also shared what would have been a priority on his younger self's daily to-do list: "Do one thing every day that you look forward to doing." The basketball star explains, "It’s easy to get caught up in the enormous responsibilities of daily life. The To Do List can swallow your day. So, I’d insist to my younger self to make sure he has one thing on that list that he looks forward to doing."

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Abdul-Jabbar is the leading scorer in the history of the NBA, an actor, a best-selling author, a cancer survivor, and he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2012 to be a U.S. global cultural ambassador—so it's safe to say that following his advice could yield some interesting results. Each day, I would personally love to see something I was excited about on my to-do list.

This post is part of the series Infamous To-Do Lists. Share what's on your to-do list here and inspire others.

Related: 'What Good Shall I Do This Day?' Asked Benjamin Franklin Every Single Morning

Image courtesy of the NBA