When I was 10 years I was really good at soccer (That's what my mom always told me and I think I scored several times per game). For some reason since then I haven't played a lot of soccer and my skills have diminished yet I still think my mom would say I'm really good (I have the best mom). So for the last 4 weeks I have joined some coworkers to play in a rec league and it has been really fun for me but painful, as I realize that I am not that good. I run all around, tire after 5 minutes of sprinting towards a ball I can't catch, subbing out, then subbing in, and repeating the process. When I shoot I miss, or it gets stopped by the goally as it pitifully and slowly rolls into his hands. I played goally last week and I wasn't anywhere near the goal box when the other team scored. So I have been thinking a lot about soccer and how I can contribute to the team and help and not hinder them- and a few days ago I decided that maybe I was destined to play defense. So as hard as it was, I decided to just stay back and defend and all of a sudden I am noticably helping the team and not hurting them- the position plays to my strengths. And I was happy and the team was a lot happier and we did better.
So I was thinking how that is like life. We bounce around from job to job or position to position in life and we will always be mediocre or poor unless we find the right position and play to our strengths. When we discover our strengths and then use them, we are definitely happier and more helpful to others. It is usually a better use of time and energy to find and develop our strengths than it is to try to be the best at something we are not fit for.
