What makes us describe someone as a strong person? Exactly what is strength?
Last week I was in a Coaching Life Group meeting with a Coach who had developed a new Coaching
Purpose Statement. The whole thing was outstanding, containing powerful words about training young people to develop work ethic, integrity/character, and make intelligent choices. All great ideas for sure.
But the part of his purpose statement that hit me hardest was the last phrase, where he wrote about helping players develop the “strength to serve others”.
How often do we consider the strength it takes to put others first? In our sports and our society it’s very easy to equate strength with dominance and the ability to elevate ourselves to great heights. When I hear the word strong I usually think of big muscles. That’s just where my mind goes.
If this man to had simply written about working to use his coaching/sports to develop people with an others-focused mentality, that would have been fantastic enough. I can absolutely get on board with that. But he took it to another level, and what put it over the top was his use of the word “strength”. One of the absolute most valuable gifts we can give our children is the lesson that the greatest mark of strength is self-sacrifice.