Just Me
In case you didn't know, football season is well underway. For my European friends and readers, I mean American football season, not soccer.
My son is a wide receiver for his high school Senior football team. For those who don't know about wide receivers, those are the guys who catch the ball thrown by the quarterback and then run it up the field to hopefully score a touchdown. It's a high-skill position and one that gets you into the spotlight often. There are a lot of eyes on you when that ball is sailing high in a long 45-yard pass. You're tracking the ball, the goal line, the large players from the opposing team who are trying to take you down, and likely a number of other factors that I'm unaware of.
It's one of those feats of human performance that feels magical when it all comes together. It looks superhuman. The less a wide receiver has on his mind in those moments, the better he will perform. Humans are incredibly well-designed for action in the moment. We only need be in the moment ourselves.
This morning is game day. There's a game about once a week. While getting ready for school and the away game today, my son asks me, "Hey Mum, can you help me with something?"
I think straight away it's a physical thing he wants me to look at since I'm always putting him back together from endless sprains, strains, bumps, and bruises. Such is football.
"I keep thinking how I'm going to drop the ball and there's a lot of pressure because I got that touchdown last game. I'm worried I won't have good hands."
The last game was truly epic for his team. It was like a movie about a high school football team that came back from defeat to achieve glory. And my son had a feature role in that movie. I actually teared up watching that game. There were a number of moments he'll remember for the rest of his life. Unlike a movie, life goes on and there's always the next game.
"I know I should be thinking positive and visualizing catching the ball, but it just won't stick."
He also told me that the coach has him on kick returns now as well. Think even more catching with everyone watching.
Knowing how thought works and that it dissolves on its own as soon as we take our focus off it, I wondered how to help him see that he doesn't need a "better thought". Or said differently, when we take the importance off a particular train of thought, we get off the train.
Also knowing how our brain will often make thoughts seem solid, I asked him "Yes, but who are you before the thoughts?"
He looked surprised and then brightened. I could see the 5-year-old I once knew in his face. With a big grin he said, "I'm just me. And I can do anything when I'm just me."
And that was it.
He went off to school and later played a great game with lots of great catches. In fact, the only pass he didn't catch was because of "pass interference". That's when the blocker from the other team is interfering too much with your ability to catch the ball. My son said, "Mummy that guy was hugging me around the waist and I couldn't run." The other team got a penalty for it.
We don’t realize that when we are just ourselves without trying to figure anything out or put a lot of thought into it, that's when we are highly effective. We don't need to pay any attention to random unwanted thoughts. They literally have no meaning. It's a way we have of lying to ourselves.
Whenever you show up in life as Just Me, your natural talents, gifts, and resources can shine with their full strength. High performance becomes a natural, easy flow.
What does Just Me before thought feel like for you?
What Else Are We Up To?
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Interesting find: I came across this website where you can "do nothing". It was extremely pleasant and restful. Check it out and let me know what you think!
https://nothing.mvze.net/?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9776ie6ugo2zyMYesJyuUJcZuSe5IQjbLuUAduYScKMWvbZQNneS4fCnq6xdtCoHh5FAeaYRC7HvKQ-VI7ufHsmyTG_Q&_hsmi=326848468
With Love,
Sara Joy