*Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler is featured in the latest issue of Chicago Magazine, in which he revealed an interesting motivational technique that he lives by; he removed the rear-view mirror from his car as a symbol to never look back.
Via Chicago Magazine:
Still, he loathes reliving the past—so much so that he has removed the rearview mirror on his car (yes, really) as a symbolic reminder to never look back. His coach at Marquette University, Buzz Williams, says Butler was so sensitive about his upbringing that he swore Williams to secrecy while playing for him.
As Time reports, Butler had a rough upbringing, which was first detailed in a 2011 story on ESPN’s website. His father wasn’t around during the early part of his life. Then, his mother kicked him out of the house at age 13 following a dispute, with the words, “I don’t like the look of you. You gotta go.” He was taken in by a high school teammate’s family, to whom he expresses deep gratitude even now.
When asked why he hated talking about his past, Butler told Chicago Magazine‘s Bryan Smith: “It’s because I don’t ever want [the past] to define me,” Jimmy said. “I hated it whenever it came up because that’s all anybody ever wanted to talk about.”
He continued:
“Like, that hasn’t gotten me to where I am today. I’m a great basketball player because of my work. I’m a good basketball player because of the people I have around me. And if I continue to be stuck in the past, then I won’t get any better. I won’t change, I’ll get stuck as that kid. That’s not who I am. I’m so far ahead of that. I don’t hold grudges. I still talk to my family. My mom. My father. We love each other. That’s never going to change.”
Butler, who was recently signed to a five-year, $95 million contract, allows for one exception to his “don’t look back” rule. Whenever he or his roommates go to the grocery store, they pay the bill of the person in line behind them. “I don’t care how many groceries they have. It could be a 99-cent ice-cream cone or a $2,000 grocery bill,” he said. “We have been so blessed. It’s fun.”
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