Daily Blog Challenge Day 222/365
I love sports and athletics are something I have been involved in since I was young. It is easy to fall into the trap of describing ourselves by what we do, but this can be dangerous. When I see my identity as an athlete/musician/teacher and those areas start to be a challenge, what happens to my self-esteem and identity? Teaching is something I do, but it should not be me. This is something I struggle with often. I wrap my identity as a person into my ability to teach or coach, so when I have a rough class/day/week, I feel like a bad person. This is dangerous, especially when we start judging ourselves based on factors we cannot control. In the end, I can control my effort and attitude; I cannot control my results during athletics.
I am in the midst of another softball season. This time, the first as a head coach. Softball is a game, it is a great game in my opinion, but it is still just a game. My ultimate goal as a coach is to teach my players life lessons through the wonderful game of softball. Softball is something we play, something we do. It is not who we are as people. The same is true for any sport, activity or trait. When I start identifying myself as a smart person, what happens when I no longer feel smart?
I want my players to identify themselves by their hard work, honesty, dedication, sportsmanship, attitude, focus and responsibility; not by their ability to throw or catch a ball. The same goes for my students.
How do we help our youth realize that what they do is not who they are? Thank you for reading.
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