2 weeks ago, “the boy” officially made the 7th grade basketball team. It was a gauntlet of tryouts as over 60 kids went out for the team. It got so hard for the coaches, they had to extend the tryouts an additional 4th night to get to their final roster. The conditioning practices started the very next day. As you can imagine, “the boy” was in for a bit of a surprise. I tried to warn him that he would WISH for the travel basketball days, but sometimes you just have to learn things for yourself. Learn he did.
What I have found the most interesting so far is that he is regularly telling me that his coach tells him the very same things that I have been telling him in all the years that I coached him. He even went so far as to say “dad, he said something the other day word for word that you have said before.” Interesting. I haven’t met the coach yet, but when I do I will thank him for giving me a little credibility for maybe knowing a thing or two. He has no idea he did that, but I’ll thank him nonetheless. But here’s the point…
We’re no different.
I’ve said it here before, but we all need what is called “The Power of Three.”
Someone to lead us.
Someone we lead.
Someone to share the journey.
The reasons we need these are several, but one is because we need another voice in our head. How often have you seen this happen? You tell someone something over and over and over again and they all but ignore it. Then someone else close to them says the exact same thing and it’s gospel. Here’s an example (at the 40 second mark).
http://youtu.be/bKSmMr0uOHk?t=37
It’s important that we have other people in our lives to say what someone else has said, even if the advice is something we don’t want to hear. Another voice can be a dose of the exact medicine we need but have been avoiding. Another voice can move us to take action on something we didn’t think we had the power to do (even if someone else has been telling us this all along). But here’s the real key….
We have to be willing to receive it.
Another voice will only be as powerful as our willingness to receive it. If our response is to just cut that person from the herd and surround ourselves with people that all applaud everything we do, that can be toxic. You don’t have to surround yourself with enemies, but you should surround yourself with people that will give wise council…that you’re willing to receive.
I’ve been telling my son for years that, although he is a really good shooter, he should be in the post. His coach now has him playing the post. According to one of his friends that’s also on the team, “he is the best post player we have.” Interesting how another voice can inspire you to do the very thing that someone else was telling you all along.
Do you have the “Power of Three” in your life? Who are they? Do they know?
