Sharing a column that will be published next month.
Inventing Your Life
“Game
Changer”
By
Rob Claudio
When you watch a competitive game either in person or via
television, there is a lot of excitement associated with the unknown outcome
once the clock runs out. We all like to root for our favorite players or
teams and our loyalty to them is sometimes based upon a formula that is hard to
explain. Why I became a supporter of a team for instance, was based upon
my inner circle of friends and family who also cheered them on with passionate
accord, without a lot of explanation as to why. From a very young age, I
can just remember that if you did not support a particular team, then you were
not part of the family or group of friends. Our loyalty was challenged
from a very young age and it instilled in us this sense of pride if they won or
we felt disheartened when they lost. I love the fact that in every type
of sporting event, there is also a moment that can completely change the
momentum of the game and can cause what would have been a potential loss, to
become a winning result in the end. The sportscasters of the world will
replay that moment over and over again, while they spend a good amount of time
discussing that pivotal instance that was deemed as the game changer.
In life, we too have moments that change our momentum and sometimes they
can have both positive and negative effects that come with them. How
we deal with those instances is what defines us as we learn through our
circumstance that we are capable of rising above a challenge, in order to grow
from it and also be able to help others overcome a similar
situation. It is important for us to remember that a potential
setback changing moment can enable us to reach for even higher lengths and we
can all remember a period of time where we thought we would never be able to
get past it, yet we all have. Our game changing moments are like large
dots on a map, which can show us where we were and also provide a history of
the road we have traveled. As we get older, looking back at the amount
and the sizes of those large dots makes one realize how privileged we are in
the many years that we have been alive to be able to retrace them.
Sometimes just remembering a particular challenging time, can cause us to
wonder out loud how we survived that period. The next time you look at
the highlights of game that was played, think about the highlights in your own
life. Many of us fail to give ourselves
credit for the things that we have achieved and what I find in my older
seasoned years of living, is that I would like to think that my mom and
grandmother who were the largest influences in my life would be proud of how I
turned out. As a direct byproduct of what they helped nurture during
their lives, I am forever grateful for all that they did for me. As most
of us were cared for and led by instrumental parents, mentors or teachers in
our lives, we owe all of our success to those that came before us. For it is because of those pivotal people
that lit the way when we faced darkness in our journey, that we were
able to arrive at the place where we needed to be. It is my hope that you
can recall many great game changing moments that caused you to do better and be
better as a result. Remember that the game is not over until the clock
stops and until that occurs, you still have the possibility of making a great
play that will forever define you as a human being. After all, it is the memories of those
highlight reels which will be left behind as part of your legacy, long after
the lights have been turned off.
“The game of life
has two participants, spectators and players.
Pick one.”
-Author unknown
