One day you’ll find out you’re no longer good

Listening to sports radio one day recently I was struck by callers talking about a pro basketball player.  “Bob from Berwyn” and others like him were savaging the player, ranting about what a waste of money he was and how he added nothing to the team.

But I was most struck by the caller who simply said, “He just isn’t good.”

This referring to an athlete who, from the time he could dribble a basketball, wasn’t just good, he was significantly better than everyone within a 500 mile radius.  You have to be that good to make the NBA.

But then one day, he just wasn’t good anymore. 

It can happen in the blink of an eye.

One day, you’re the man.  The next day, The Man tells you you’re not so great. Not so necessary any more.

Maybe they brought in someone flashier or smarter or younger or just plain newer.

Maybe a technology is developed that makes you less relevant.

Or maybe it’s you.  You’ve become less inspired, less motivated.  Inertia has taken over. 

And one day you’re just not good.  It happens. 

But then something else happens.

As the sting of rejection relentlessly stabs at you, and the hole in your heart forms where the thing you used to be good at used to be, a different feeling begins to creep in.  A sense of relief starts to form in the midst of the disappointment.

A realization that the situation you were in wasn’t perfect.

It was causing you stress and filling your days with unease.  Maybe you weren’t doing as good a job as you used to.  Others who had come up behind you were doing it better.  You weren’t working as hard.

At the same time, you were putting more energy into other things, getting satisfaction from them.  Enjoying the new challenges you were creating.

A switch pops up in your brain that goes back and forth between shock and relief, embarrassment and relief, pain and relief. 

But finally, it just stays on relief.

There are flashes of panic now and then but they’re quick and temporary and greatly outnumbered by optimism.  You have faith in yourself and awareness of your ability, and trust that something great will be around every corner, as long as you keep your legs and brain moving.

So you keep your legs and brain moving.

Even though you may trip up once in a while, it doesn’t take long to right yourself.  And in time you’re walking strong. Stronger than the time when the people said you weren’t good any more.

Because good isn’t just one thing.

Good can take many forms.  You can be good on the basketball court or in the broadcast booth.  In a boardroom or on a construction site. 

Someday someone may tell you you’re just not good.  And the really good thing is, they’ll be right.

The more important thing is what you do next.