Leadership / Teamwork / Winning / Disappointment
Leadership Moment — 15 May 23
It isn’t all about you. Make sure you don’t make it that way.
Last Friday, I was at my kids’ high school’s regional track meet. Winners go to States, losers go home. One of the athletes for our high school was a freshman and had really high expectations. He was certain he could surge, PR [personal record], and qualify for States. He didn’t.
His girlfriend, also on the track team, did. The boy wasn’t there to see it. He was so disappointed that his own dream wasn’t realized, there was no room for anything else. There was no room for cheering on his girlfriend, his teammates, or even friends from other teams. In the past, he’d cheered for them all many times.
When he finished his event, he insisted on leaving immediately. He didn’t see the girls team win the region, didn’t see his girlfriend realize her dream and qualify for States, didn’t see several of his male teammates maximize their efforts to realize their dreams. He left.
This was a good kid. I’d watched him all season. He had fire. He wanted to win, wanted to be his best. He put in the work, probably more than anyone else on the team.
