Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ll know that it is my birthday today. I don’t want to make a big deal about it. Did I mention it is my birthday?
Anyway..
I’ve decided that no one gets a present this year in “pass the parcel”, apart from the winner. Even if the winner is not the birthday boy himself…
As I like to use my birthday as a reminder of quite a powerful story…
You’ve probably seen this before too—
All the talk about whether kids should get participation trophies in sport.
And while it might ruffle a few feathers…
There’s this quote from NFL player James Harrison that has always stuck with me after his two kids got given participation trophies and he sent them back:
“These trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy…
because sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better.”
Harsh?
Maybe.
But I’ll be honest—I do agree with the message (although sending them back perhaps not..).
Because while encouragement matters, results come from doing the work.
The boring work.
The hard work.
The “I don’t feel like it today but I’m doing it anyway” work.
And that’s where the real breakthroughs happen.
I mean, when I think back to growing up..I remember getting trophies when I barely played a few seasons, and it didn’t actually feel right…
BUT…because it didn’t feel right, it did eventually force me to think “I should go somewhere I am playing more week in, week out so I can earn it”…
Because somehow I think the quicker we fail and learn from these failures, the better…
Especially when it comes to health, fitness, and feeling good in yourself.
We start a diet or programme thinking it’s going to be all glitter and green smoothies…
Then —reality hits:
– You’re not motivated.
– You know what to do but still don’t do it.
– You feel like you’ve messed up, again.
But here’s the thing:
That’s not failure. That’s feedback.
And we need to glorify ‘failure’ a bit more. As hard as that is…
Because the most valuable stuff?
It’s hidden in the setbacks.
In the mess-ups.
In the “I should’ve done better” moments.
Some of the worst moments teach you the most. It is why we often look back with a smile at them. Like the moment I gave a presentation for my postgraduate Masters at Loughborough university, so red-faced and nervous I could barely speak. My Professor who was marking me asked me what I wanted to do, saying I could not do what I wanted to do if I could not communicate…
This has stuck with me ever since. As I would always avoid presentations. I would avoid the things that made me uncomfortable. Only to understand that even professors struggled too, but it was something you have to do …
So today—on my birthday (did I say it was my birthday) —I just want to remind you:
- Be proud of yourself for showing up.
- Don’t beat yourself up for falling off.
- But also—don’t settle for a participation trophy.
- You can be happy with what you have, and still want more.
Learn from the fall.
Use it to fuel your next move.
And remember—you can always make today your Day One…
Matt “It’s my Birthday and don’t want to make a big deal” Fruci