Team sports offer youth the ability to learn the following life lessons: you don’t control the world, the value of teaching rather than finding faults, encouragement motivates – criticism discourages, mistakes are part of life, each person has a part to play and each person is gifted in some way but not necessarily the same as others, and your identity and value is not based on performance.
The problem is – “should” is quick and dirty. I can analyze what is and what “should” be and spit it out in a simple sentence. Reaching for the truthful standard while offering understanding for who I am, forgiveness for who I am not and encouragement to reach toward goodness requires more. Typically, it takes five thoughtful sentences to do the job. This may seem like semantics, but how these desires are framed in our belief system is the difference between a life of joy and peace… or one of anxiety, futility and despair.
If you are in or approaching your young adult years I encourage you to choose to grasp on to your competency and resiliency, rather than giving in to the illusion of escape that drugs, marijuana, alcohol, illicit sex and other forms of disconnection offer. If you have been knocked down by tragedy I hope you find the strength to connect with others as you heal and begin to walk through how to write the next chapters of your life. If you are well into your adult years and you are realizing that numbing strategies have not lead you down the path that you were hoping, know that it’s never too late to give yourself what you didn’t get growing up.
When going through difficulties, we seem to always hear someone tell us to “stay strong.” When this is said, it seems to translate into: “grit your teeth, stuff your emotions, and get on with life.” While there is value in being encouraged to keep going and not give up, this way of thinking can be … Read moreStaying Strong