Wednesday Words of Wisdom #133
I've played Gaelic Football all my life.
I’ve been fortunate enough to play with some fantastic players on some truly great teams.
A mate asked me there recently, who was the best player I’d ever played with/against.
Simple.
Marty Conway of Greencastle.
Those of you who don’t know Marty or have never seen him play will just have to take me at my word that this guy was something special. I say ‘was’ because a few years back we lost him to Australia and I’m not 100% sure if he’s still terrorising defenders Down Under but if he is, may God have mercy on their tortured souls.
Anyway, you’ll be wanting me to get to the point some time soon, yes?
This post wasn’t written to blow smoke up Marty’s a$$ either, far from it.
The reason I hold Marty in such high esteem and the reason that he stands out for me among all the rest is because he offered me the chance to become better myself.
Marking Marty in training represented the ultimate challenge.
I could see other players actively avoid marking him in training games but I chose to throw myself in at the deep end and volunteered every time.
My thinking was simple. ‘Marty is the best player here by a mile, if I can even get close to the cute hoor then I’ll be getting better.’
Too often in life we shy away from the challenges that have the potential to improve us as people.
9 times out of 10 Marty got the better of me but I learned something new each and every time I stepped up to mark him and the handful of times that I came out on top gave me a confidence in my abilities that I wouldn’t have gotten if I was marking someone I knew wasn’t as good.
Marty was a challenge, one that I willingly accepted and chose to test myself with time and again in order to make myself better. I still do it today against the second best player I’ve played with, Cahir McCullagh. I’m a lot slower than I was and it takes a lot more out of me but I’m not willing to stop challenging myself just yet.
You learn learn something about yourself when you take up a challenge.
You get to see where you are strong but you also get to see where you are weak and need work.
Its all feedback at the end of the day and as long as you use that feedback in order to improve, then you’re heading down a winning path.
Some of my fondest memories playing football over the years weren’t in high profile games in front of thousands of spectators, no, they were the Sunday morning training games doing battle with Marty and Cahir in a bid to become a better version of myself. They’ll be the memories and the lessons that stay with me long after my time on the field has ended.
So I challenge you today.
I challenge you to seek out the challenge in your life that will make you better. Identify it and tackle it head on.
We all like the path of least resistance in life sometimes but it is the rocky road that will test your mettle and show you where you really stand.
I’m backing you to rise to the challenge.
Just remember what I said earlier, 9 times out of 10 Marty handed me my a$$ and I was left looking like a chump but each and every time he did, I learned and I got 1% better.
It all adds up.
I wouldn’t change it for the world…….