Everyone
loves to hear good news. We see it all over our social networks, we hear it in
phone calls, well those that still like to talk on the phone; and those that
are moms all bragged when their kids used the big potty. We gush over the
simplest of things, literally everything. What happens when the good news
becomes bragging? Bragging is ok, even though some get a little too carried
away with it. I guess we all have to blow our own horn every now and then. I
must admit, some of you blow your horn a little too much and need to learn to
push that inner mute button.
Think about athletes, some are
naturally good and others have to work hard just to be in the same sentence as
the good ones. Everyone likes a good success story, why not, it’s good news. If
Derrick Rose wasn’t from Englewood in Chicago would he be as a big a story?
He’s a great athlete, but think about it…he came into the league early because
of a testing scandal which was quickly forgotten when his talent quickly
outshined the university he came from. Never mind the fact that you can’t
understand a darn thing that comes out of his mouth, the guy just wins.
Remember the young man from Richards High School that was arrested before
graduation but didn’t lose his scholarship? I didn’t think so. The bottom line
is, no one is slapping themselves on the back taking credit for either of these
young men no one stepping into their light or shade.
So what is this short arm syndrome,
does everyone have it? Short answer (no pun intended) no not everyone has it,
but I’ll be darned if some don’t learn to get it quickly. All of us are born
with a natural ability to excel at something; whether or not we develop it is up
to us and sometimes environment. My talent has always been writing and
basketball; I didn’t fully develop either talent. I had the best teachers in
journalism at Columbia College and I had a future hall of fame basketball coach
in high school. I got bored, plain and simple. Now, having the talent came with
a weird price, as long as I was good, my parents (who divorced when I was 10)
were always there slapping themselves on the back. My dad still does to this
day. Interestingly enough, they never saw me play or read anything I wrote. I
think their arms got cut off because they sure had short arm syndrome. Get it
now? Ahh, I bet you do!
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a
lot of talented young people over the years and I’ve seen a lot short arm
syndrome. I’ve seen young people cursed out by people that are supposed to be
mentoring the mind, not just the athlete, but somehow that got lost in
translation when the site of the media was fast approaching. I’ve seen young
people yelled at and told they owe what they’ve become to not themselves, but a
staff of people that only show support when you win. I’ve seen athletes get
hurt and left on the field by coaches only to have the coach act like a best
friend when success once again knocks on the door. I could write a book on the
non ethical treatment of athletes and coaches with overblown egos. I’ve seen a coach that was so ego driven; she
felt she could coach from Las Vegas. She was so good, it didn’t matter that
while she was proving she wasn’t the great bowler she claimed, the young lives
she had been entrusted with were in the care of someone who had an alternative
agenda in a hotel room. Oh, but it was due to her coaching that these young
people had talent. Her arms were a little short as well.
Now, there’s a flip side to all of
this. There is another version of short arm syndrome; it’s as funny as it is
crappy. It’s the side where someone succeeds even though they didn’t have the
help of someone in the position to do so. Success in spite of…… oh yea, that’s
the best type of success. It’s this type of success that brings about the very
shortest of short arm syndrome. The person so much wants to be able to slap
themselves on the back for your success but ouch, like the Temptations say, “I
can’t get next to you”. You’re stuck in the background watching to see what
happens while hoping someone else will give you that call for the big time. Now
you’re banking on two, interesting, is that arm sore yet? I’m going to go out
on a limb and say many of you have experienced short arm syndrome, how’s that
working out for ya?
While you’re sitting on the
sidelines humming Rose Royce’s “I want to get next to you”, watching the
success of others, remember, everyone has a talent. You can help cultivate it
or step out of the way. They are talented because of themselves so stop
allowing your arm to only reach the surface of your back. Think silently to
yourself “Hmm, it wouldn’t be a syndro(me) if it didn’t have me in it”. ~ Just
my two cents
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