What You Talkin' About Willis?

I remember watching the TV series "Different Strokes" years ago. Gary Coleman played a character named Arnold. He use to question his brother, Willis, with this famous line, "What You Talkin' About Willis?" Arnold had this furrow in his brow and a pouty mouth.



I saw the same look on my older son's face the other day when his soccer team was suffering a potential loss. He is a competitive young man who strives to win. He is still learning the lessons of loss and sportsmanship. He wanted to switch to a different team, a team which he thinks could have a higher skill level. I told him we could look into the possibilities but I could not guarantee that the move would be possible. He may have to make the most of the situation. As he stood on the sidelines, he crossed his arms and gave me the look, "What you talkin' about MOM?"

What I explained to him, can apply to areas in our lives as well. You may have an event or situation that comes up in your life that you may not care for. It can be working with a committee or a team in which all members come together with different abilities. I explained to my son, "There will always be people better than you and those who do not have the same skill level as you. What matters is how you play the game. How do you enrich the team you are assigned to? Are you giving your best in every play or situation?"
You can help build other players up by teaching them some of your savvy skills. Ask a person you see as more skilled than yourself for their guidance and tips for improvement. You can find out what every one's expectations and goals are. Communication is so important in working together. Get to know each other and discover each other's strengths. Position yourselves so that you are allowing people to give their very best. That way -You win. Everyone wins. Let other people know what you doing and ask for help when you need it. You are sure to SCORE  the goal and achieve your end result.

Take your event or situation. See how YOU can make a difference right where YOU are right now. Look at what you have and not what you do not have. The outcome of your situation depends on how you respond to it. What skills do you bring to the table? How can you leverage these skills and make your situation better?

Instead of "What You Talkin' About Willis?", let it be - "NOW that's what I'm talkin' about!" Go for it!

Just in case you wanted to know, my son scored and he tied the game.  We had investigated moving to another team. He is unable to move teams but he knows he has much more to offer his team. Next year, he plans to try out for a higher level division. He will have many lessons to share. He is learning to be a leader!