Soccer and Self-Esteem

Good Morning,

This post has absolutely nothing to do with stamping or scrapbooking except that I realized how much confidence I gain from positive feedback I receive from my friends and customers when I share a project or idea with them.  You can never be too old to feel great about your accomplishments.

Case in point…my son, Ian (in blue), is a huge soccer fan.  He has to be a fan since his favourite team is Ireland who aren’t exactly big on the world scene…and their colours aren’t great either – picture white, only orange and glorious green.  I think he should support Manchester United (okay, thinking like a woman here!) because they have nicer colours for his jacket and shirts..LOL  and his favourite player, Cristiano Ronaldo plays for them.  Ronaldo plays the same position as Ian and Ian is proud that he’s mastered some of Ronaldo’s fancy footwork and signature "tricks".

Ian has played for years for his local soccer team but only recently started playing for his  school team.  His coaches (volunteers from the community) at school are involved at the Provincial & National level for soccer and the positive feedback he’s received about his skills from them has made him feel great!  If you know about soccer, Ian has the ability to kick with either his left or right foot equally which I guess is unusual..I should have encouraged him in baseball and then he could have been a switch hitter (LOL)  I always knew that Ian had a great sense of self-esteem but I was surprised by his reaction to their feedback – he felt really proud.  Especially when they took him aside after the game to share their excitement (play by play) over his goal (right side off his left foot..it was spectacular!).    Ian’s a pretty "cool" kid but I could see how much it meant to him.

This morning as we are trying to rush out the door for school he is in the unusual hurry to actually arrive earlier than the second bell…the reason?  They announce the previous day’s  sports scores over the PA and his name will be mentioned for his 2 goal effort in yesterday’s 4-0 win over Burnaby Mountain.  The only thing better would have been if he’d scored a "hat trick"…then they play the team song and beat drums when they announce your name.  Too funny.

So, always remember that everyone needs a kind word or praise for their efforts – you never know what kind of doubts they have in their abilities and receiving postive feedback from someone you admire (like Ian’s new school coach or my stamping friends to me) can make a huge difference in the outcome of your performance.  You can rise to heights you never thought possible.

Have a great day!

Alison