The Try-out

Did you ever wonder how people know that they have certain talents?  Or even how some people have the confidence to present themselves / audition in front of strangers?  The key is the ability to do these “things”, talents or skills to strangers, as doing them in front of family and friends has an element of comfort.  For many people it is difficult for them to take the initial step to join a new organization, try out for a sport, or pursue a new avenue of interest.  That initial step…Tammy Stanley, in her book “Carpe Phonum” makes the point that we often lack confidence before we do anything and that it is the act of doing that helps us to gain confidence.  Sometimes it is our beliefs in our abilities that help us to overcome these initial feelings.

One of the great things about being a parent is watching our children develop into young adults and the accomplishments that they realize and attain on their journeys through life.  As they grow up, they often reach points where there is a new experience waiting for them and they hesitate before moving forward.  When they accomplish each of these, it gives us ample cause to be proud of them.  The interesting thing is that sometimes we have more confidence belief in their abilities to succeed than they do.  Case in point, this year my daughter, Rebecca, decided that she wanted to try out for the bowling team.  She has always enjoyed going bowling with family and friends, but she saw this as an opportunity to do something a little different.  The coach held two practices that doubled as a chance for him to decide who would be on the team this year.  During the first session, my daughter bowled next to the Varsity team, where they were bowling 240 or better.  Needless to say, this can be intimidating to anyone; so for the next session, my wife and I encouraged her to go and just do her best.

Many times, we reach a juncture in our life where we have to make a decision about what we will do next.  Life really is about choices.  We make choices daily as part of our regular routine and do not even realize it at the time.  Sometimes, we need to step back, take a deep breath and remember our original reason (our why) for taking the initial action to be able to make the subsequent choices, which at the time seem large and confusing before us.  How many of us have seen this where we work, or while coaching sports, where someone gets intimidated, stops and in some cases a little extra effort could have made the difference in their performance?  Sometimes, a few words of encouragement are all that are needed to help restore their confidence and then their goal can be accomplished.  

And yes, we are the proud parents of our daughter for doing her best and making the High School Bowling team!