๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ? ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ?
I was sitting at a bar with friends, including a young soccer player. Being someone who barely played soccer as a kid (except as a goalkeeper, but that's another story), I was pretending to be interested in their football talk.
That was until I heard a conversation that grabbed my attention.
The 11-year-old player was expressing his frustration about being consistently benched since joining the older team. In his young mind, this translated to a simple, harsh conclusion: "I'm not good enough."
That's when my friend asked him a powerful question: "๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฝ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ?"
The question hung in the air, loaded with implicit wisdom: you were selected because you have potential, because you need to learn, because you're ready to raise your standards.
My friend continued, "Now is your time to prove the coach made the right choice. But remember, you don't just prove it during the 90 minutes of the game. You prove it during training, in the locker room, with your teammates; that's where you need to show your worth."
We have all been benched (well I have been several times) sometimes we take it badly, personally, thinking it's unfair. And in those moments, we focus on the negative and forget that growth and impact happen beyond the spotlight moments.
Just as this young player was learning that soccer goes beyond match day, we go beyond a role, a project, a title, a box in the organizational chart.
Our influence ripples through every interaction: in casual conversations, in how we support people around us, and in the quiet moments when no one is watching. It's about creating an environment where everyone feels valued, whether we're "on the field" or not.
Our opportunity to grow, learn and make an impact exists in every moment and sometimes, the best growth happens right there on the sidelines.
What matters isn't just how we play during game time, it's how we show up every single day, in every interaction. That's where the real game is played.