Nice guys don’t always finish last. Sometimes, even with good motives, they don’t finish at all. Case in point.
My grandson tried out for a hockey team, but didn’t make it. He was disappointed. He told his mother that he played wing and center, and kept shifting positions because another kid couldn’t decide if he wanted to play either spot.
His mom said, “Well, you need to be more selfish and say, ‘Hey, I am playing center!’” My grandson looked at his mom and said, “Mom, I would rather be a good person than a good hockey player.”
I thought, “You know, if we all took time to consider others, our world would be a much better place.”
I am all for having care and consideration for others, but, with the best of intentions, Mom chose an inappropriate word – ‘selfish.’ It carries the unfortunate, additional connotation of, all for me, and no-one but me. It’s nice to be nice, but she should have said, assertive.
One can be assertive, without being an asshole. If you don’t tell others what you want, you’ll seldom get it, and just end up going home to sit in a big, hot, soapy tub of disappointment. Progress is made by those who want, and who communicate to others what they want. You can be both a good person, and a good hockey player. If you don’t want strive, perhaps you should try for a spot in the figure-skating revue, or join the chess club.
Reading this Op/Ed letter, I could just imagine the, “After you, Alphonse. No, no, you go first, my dear Gaston.” game being played. It is possible that the other, good person, lad was waiting for this one to make a choice, and he would gladly accept whichever position was left. Hockey is a competitive sport. This youth didn’t even have the drive to attain the position he wanted. The coach wisely saw that he didn’t have the ambition and motivation necessary to win games for the team, and cut him.
Baaa…. I cannot tell a lie. I sheepishly insist that you return soon, probably for another helping of Fibbing Friday.
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