Thirty shots and about seven minutes later, Neon Batman (hoodie he was wearing) finally made his first basket. His immediate response was “I’m a GOAT!” For those who are not familiar with this terminology, GOAT stands for Greatest of All Time. As my student teaching semester wraps up in the next few days, I am reflecting not on what I taught my students, but rather what my students have taught me. Neon Batman taught me about self-confidence and perseverance. It was a “Choice Day” in PE, so at any point, he could have given up on shooting hoops and chosen a different game. But not Neon Batman. Neon Batman was going to keep shooting until he made a basket and when he made that basket he thought he was the greatest of all time.
At what point did you stop believing in yourself? At what point did you want to give up? If Neon Batman had stopped after twenty-nine shots, he would never have felt the happiness he did watching that basketball leave his hands and go through the net on this thirtieth shot. From my warped adult mindset, it is easy for me to look at that and think dang he only made 3% of the shots he took. But that did not matter to him, what mattered to him the one shot he did make. He did not let the world determine his meter for success. He did not compare his success with the success of other students. He did not think about all the shots he missed, but the one shot he made.
As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” What if the “failures” you see in your life are not in fact failures at all, but rather stepping stones into the greatness God has for you. One of my professors last semester asked our class what we think the biggest issue kids are facing today. My immediate thought was that kids are not taught that it’s okay to fail and show to recover from perceived failures. Failure should be encouraged, failure should be embraced! Failure is a natural part of life. Truthfully one of my biggest struggles is my fear of failure. This fear has stripped me of so much joy throughout my life. This summer I had a breakdown because I doubted my ability to teach. I was so afraid of failing as a student teacher that I did not even want to attempt it. After four years of college, I thought about switching my major back to marketing. But switching back to marketing would not have solved my issue. There were plenty of things I could have failed at with marketing too. I was just looking for an escape. I was afraid I was going to fail so I did not even want to try. But I am proud to say I have less than a week to go with student teaching and I have absolutely loved it. Do I make mistakes every day? Yes! Is that okay? Yes. Because each mistake I make, makes me a better teacher.
I am here to remind you that “doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” So, stop letting your doubts kill your dreams.
Although I have doubts and questions when it comes to the World Race and how all the details are going to come together, I am not letting doubt kill my dreams. I am going on the World Race and trusting God to work out the details. What is the “World Race” in your next season of life? Go for it!
