“There you are, wrapped up in your own little moronic world,” a coach hollered at one of his players.
Parents sitting in the stands shivered. “Oh my gawd, did he just say what I think he said?”
“He did,” replied another parent.
“That’s horrible. How can you be so insensitive?” another questioned.
Meanwhile, there are a couple former professional athletes sitting in the same stands, laughing to themselves. To them, what the coach said is no big deal. When they were playing ball, they heard far worse, and not just once in a blue moon, either.
These athletes not only got reamed by their coaches, but once they turned pro, they heard it from the fans, from the local media, from the national as well as world media.
They heard thousands yelling, “You suck.”
And they learned to live with it and succeed in spite of the critics and the criticism.
These professional athletes learned the fine art of acquiring thick skin and not giving a damn about what the naysayers think.
Insult them beyond belief and they look at you, smile through busted teeth and say, “Is that it? That all you got? You better come up with something else if you want me to feel insulted.”
Raising an athlete who has never felt the sting of criticism is almost a goal for many people today. But is it a good idea? Does policing all criticism out of your life make you a better person? Does it make you tougher, more resilient?
What do you think?
Here endeth the lesson.
Matt Furey
P.S. If you’ll recall the story I told in Theatre of the Mind, one of my biggest breakthroughs in college happened after Coach Dan Gable told me that I “didn’t try very hard in practice.” I need to go listen to that one again. It still fires me up every time I hear it.
