That led to a discussion about the perks and pitfalls of competition, with Tebow insisting competitiveness isn’t a problem itself, but “where you steer it” can be. When his parents noticed that young Tebow easily became arrogant about on-field successes, they made him memorize Bible verses—often about humility. In the process, Tebow said, they were “allowing me to go compete and supporting me” while showing that sports victory “isn’t everything.”
Tebow admitted to being a “terrible teammate” until he learned that winning involves “building everyone up,” not just having strong individual showings. He also learned the difference between people’s performances and their value as human beings.
While playing for the Florida Gators, Tebow said he regularly listened to the Casting Crowns song “Voice of Truth” to remember that “I’m not defined by this game” but by God, who has “a purpose and a plan.”
Some of Tebow’s biggest motivators, Tebow told Peterson, have been “scars from losses.” Disappointment “can propel you if you let it, if you use it as fuel,” he said. “You either win or you learn.” Tebow used the analogy of weight training, in which “you literally tear down your muscles and they come back stronger.”
“God says go outside the zone of comfort continually and voluntarily,” Tebow continued, “because when we seek comfort, I really believe that we miss so much of our purpose and meaning and significance.”
‘You’re Here on Purpose, for a Purpose’
Tim Tebow, who’s expecting his first baby this summer with wife Demi-Leigh, spoke highly of his parents throughout the podcast. He described how they rejected doctors’ advice to abort him and then regularly told him he was “a miracle baby” whom “God spared…for a reason.” Their message? “You’re not here by accident,” they said. “You’re here on purpose, for a purpose, with a purpose, and you have a destiny.”
Tebow described his father as “one of the most courageous people I’ve ever met.” Faith propelled his dad to face imprisonment and physical threats in the mission field, Tebow said. It also compelled his dad to give away everything when the family had only a couple of dollars left.
When Peterson asked Tebow about being homeschooled and the value of “memory training,” the athlete expressed gratitude that his parents required him to learn Scripture before playing in games.
“There was such a plan my parents [had] in putting these thoughts in our head, so that you would meditate on them even though we didn’t want to,” Tebow said of himself and his four older siblings. “Eventually when it’s in your head and it’s in your heart, God can bring it to your memory.”
