It feels like I’ve had several “if only” conversations lately. “If only” is a phrase used in the never-ending search for “IT.” If only I… [fill-in the blank]
…had that job.
…held that title.
…lived in that neighborhood.
…made that amount.
…went there for vacation.
…etc.
My earliest recollection of “if only” and the never-ending quest for IT goes back to when I was a little kid and I had a Huffy bicycle. All the kids on my street owned a Schwinn. I had a Huffy—Kmart’s brand. You couldn’t be cool with a Huffy. But, that was my life. No expensive brands for me. My friends had the Spalding indoor/outdoor leather basketball and I had one my parents bought from a grocery store–that looked like a brown painted volleyball. My buddies wore Levis and I wore Sears’ brand—Husky pants. I was that kid–Husky’s on a Huffy. All the discount brands started with “H” for “humiliation.”
So I saved my money and, with a little help from my parents, I finally got a Candy Apple Red Schwinn 3 speed—very fancy. I rode that thing around like I was the CEO of Schwinn and they gave me the very best one ever made. No baseball cards in the spokes for me—not a chance—that was so childish. But, it wasn’t long before I determined that my life would be a little better if I had a 10-speed.
I wish that was my first and last visit with “if only” thinking… unfortunately that’s not reality.
Question: how do you help coach people to get past this limited thinking. What’s your advice? Share it here.
