Thursday nights I play on a summer volleyball league; which I greatly enjoy.
However, one particular night we weren’t playing so hot and my teammates were getting really upset with themselves. When we lost they were apologizing for their missed hits and placing the blame on themselves for the loss.
It got me thinking, “Why do we do this to ourselves?”
A “team” means a group effort. If one person makes some errors, the loss isn’t on them. It’s up to the other players to encourage and lift that person up or assist them if their game is off. We need to STEP UP for them.
If you also place the blame on yourself after your team loses consider this:
If your team wins, do you say that the only reason they won is because of you? Probably not.
See in a TEAM setting it takes more than one person to win, as well as to lose. We need to shift our perception on this matter and understand that your errors are not causing the loss, just like your successes are not the sole reason your team wins.
If you’re going to continue placing the blame on yourself for a loss then you should also take all of the praise when you play well and your team wins. Sounds arrogant, doesn’t it? Well, it’s also arrogant to think you have the power to cause your team to lose. That’s essentially saying that your team isn’t good enough to win without you playing well. I know you don’t mean it that way, but if you start to think about it this way you can show yourself some compassion when you do mess up and make errors.
Trust your team to be good enough to step up and assist when your game isn’t there.
Remember it takes a team to win, as well as to lose. Take the “I” out of it.
