Don't be a False Friend

I hope you had a chance to read yesterdays blog.  Some of you may wonder what does this statement by Mother Teresa have to do with fitness.  I believe in fitness of the mind, the body and the soul.  There is one stanza that really stands out to me:

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.

I had a discussion with a young lady this week that really struck me.  She was upset that she feels like she is doing too much for herself and not enough for others.  She has had success in many areas and yet she feels that she is not doing well.  I think our society has skewed our views of success.  If one earns a lot of money they are looked at as being greedy and the conventional wisdom says the rich are evil.  Isn't that what to OWS crowd is all about?  I certainly agree that your worth should not be measured by how much money you make; however, there is nothing wrong with being successful and making a lot of money.  Think of the number of people you can help with your wealth.  Why do some people think they deserve what others have earned?  Success comes in many forms.

Your personal success often does help others.  If you have a successful business, you hire workers.  If you create a new product, you improve peoples lives.  Don't be afraid of success.  If you work hard and do well, you earned it. 

Isn't this what we try to teach with sports?  Those with talent don't always win.  Those who work hard don't always win.  Those with a little talent and who work hard don't win all the time, but they will have their fare share of success.  I see a disturbing trend on some of our sports teams.  We have had teams get defeated by a large margin and our girls will say that the other team, "Wasn't that good."  Think about what you are really saying.  This team hammered you and you can not accept the simple truth that they are better.  I don't expect you to be happy about this, but instead of dismissing the lose with a silly comment, think about what made them better.  Analyze their strengths and your weaknesses.  Improve.

I have seen teammates rip other team mates because the other person is getting more playing time.  Have you looked at yourself?  Is that person working harder than you?  Is that person more talented than you?  Are you really doing your best at every practice and every game?  If you are not as talented or you don't work as hard; don't rip the other player, make yourself better.  Too often the answer for some of our girls is, "I quit."

Doesn't the successful athlete help the team?  Doesn't the successful athlete help recruit better players to our school?  If we are honest with ourselves don't we want to be the successful athlete?  If you are working hard, but you are not as talented, you need to face that fact.  Work hard to get better and know your role on the team.  You may be a practice player and you need to accept that.  Your contribution to the team is to practice hard everyday to make the starters better. 

If you are that "better" player, what's your attitude?  Do you try to offer help to your fellow players? Do you recognize that they might not be as talented, but they are working hard?  Do you appreciate their hard work at practice?  We are a team.  We need to accept our roles, continue to seek self improvement and enjoy the victory or accept the lose with a determination to help each other get better.  Don't be a false friend or a genuine enemy.  Be a teammate, work together and succeed.