I think sometimes when it comes to sports, and especially relationships between players and coaches, that people lose track, lose a sense of reality.
— Ricky Williams
I do feel like a loner but I think it's because I look at things differently than other people.
In therapy, I see myself in the mirror differently.
I have no room in my life for any form of negativity or nonacceptance.
I feel no need and have no desire to give any attention to other people's opinion of me.
At the core, we're all spiritual beings.
I want to really start focusing on what I want to accomplish and what it is I want to achieve, but not micromanaging this or that and focusing on the little things.
Anytime you play a team sport, the success of the team really makes everything better. It's nice.
People are hungry because they're eating empty foods. Mine are full, and so am I.
I like to live in places that are kind of off in the cuts so people can't really find me even if they wanted to.
I'm a huge gamer, everything from PC to Xbox to PS2.
I started practicing yoga. I started learning some hands-on healing stuff. And I found really good chiropractors, really good massage therapists, and what I found is I've been able to actually peel off layers of trauma on my body and actually move better now than I did.
I think it's very easy for people to stereotype athletes, good and bad.
I think if I were a college professor, no one would say I was uncomfortable about being shy because that might be expected. But I think because of people's stereotypes, they think of a football player as someone who is very outgoing and I'm not.
I don't think people change. I think they definitely mature. But I think the essence of what I am today is the same as when I was five years old. It's just maturity. I've become a healthier, fuller expression of that essence.
To talk about balance, it's easier to talk about what's out of balance. And I think anytime that you have any disease, and disease meaning lack of ease, lack of flow... dis-ease. So any time there's disease, you're out of balance, whether it's jealousy, anger, greed, anxiety, fear.
I had a lot of friends in high school and in college, and we had a good time.
A team takes on the personality of the head coach.
If I can walk, I'll play.
I would drive home and see people wearing my No. 34 jersey and wonder why, because I didn't feel worthy of that. And all the time I just knew people were staring at me, talking about me everywhere I went.
I had this notion that everyone was staring at me and judging everything about me, from my appearance to the way I talk and everything.
The more I pay attention to what's going on inside, the more I realize that how I feel, and how I react to what I feel, really creates my reality. And the more in touch I can be, the better chance I have to control what's happening in my life.
I've always been attracted to things that are taboo. I've never been afraid to go to that dark place.
I've never been in trouble with the police.
I really do love football.
It's good to do things slow in the bush. It makes you appreciate everything a lot more.
As an athlete, you figure you work your whole life to have what you have, and to be able to show the world what you have and how proud you are of it, that's always fun.
I stepped away to find out more about myself, which I was having difficulty doing as a football player. I got a chance to travel the world. I studied Eastern philosophy, and I've grown as a person so much.
Texas was such a welcoming place, and with its unbelievable history and tradition, it's extra special to be a part of that.
What I would tell young players is that as you get older, the best thing you can do is try to have other interests and have opportunities.
There's more to life than success, and if you can try to be more well-rounded, you'll be able to enjoy your success more. It won't own you or control you.
I've gotten to a point, where I realize that happiness doesn't come from the outside.
The money is what made me miserable. I want to be free of that stress.
Now that I have conquered social anxiety disorder, I find pleasure in fans approaching me.
I think I have a tendency to look at things subjectively rather than objectively when I reflect on my experience.
Growing up with two sisters, you either play by yourself or play Barbie with them. I played by myself.
When you make that crossover from life to real life, when you're not treated as a child anymore but as a man, and you are no longer given the benefit of the doubt, it takes some courage to face that.
I don't care what people think about me because I know I am more than all the pain and strife they hold inside.
It's something that I had been pushing down my whole life. The search for meaning, I guess, the whispering of the soul.
Human beings aren't supposed to be controlled and told what to do.
And I think if you look at any relationship, for the relationship to be productive and to move forward and to grow, sometimes things have to be said that one person or the other person is not going to like to hear.
If you replace the word God in the Bible with the word Truth, it reads exactly right.
I allowed myself to think if I could be doing anything in the world, what would I be doing? And what came to mind is I'd be traveling a little bit, I'd be going to classes and I'd be going back to school.
I don't believe in regret.
Maybe I'm stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and I could carry a football then I'm not telling anybody.
The people that I see on the street, they treat me more as a human being and not just an icon or a football player.
I don't feel like my speed or my power or my desire to play this game has diminished at all.
Sometimes success will get in the way of maturity - at least temporarily.
Playing in the National Football League, you're told, you know, where to be, when to be there, what to wear, how to be there. Being able to step away from that, I have an opportunity to look deeper into myself and look for what's real.
Well, I am now convinced there is no kind of fear or anxiety anyone has to live with.
