The park near my house has lots of activities – tennis courts, dog park, basketball courts, and ample paths to walk. One section of the park has a “kiddie” basketball hoop section, which has several “kid-sized” hoops in bright colors and fun shapes. Numbers painted on the ground at varying distances reward more points the further from the hoop. While I haven’t played ball at those hoops, I’ve always appreciated the concept.
For a kid who is under 4 feet tall, “adult-sized” basketball hoops may seem an insurmountable challenge. How on earth are they supposed to throw a ball that’s bigger than their head into a hoop that’s 2.5 times taller than they are? Put them in front of the kid-sized hoops, and all of a sudden, it becomes attainable. They can shoot the ball, they could score a goal (or is it a basket?), they can earn points. The fun and confidence that a child can have by playing basketball (as in “fun” playing, not “serious to win a game” playing) can be the building blocks for them as they grow up and face taller and taller hoops. Even in middle school, the hoops are slightly adjusted for the middle-sized kids and it isn’t until they’re almost full grown and in high school that they start having to shoot at hoops 10 feet above the ground. The goal adjusts with their growth.
I often think that many of the things in our life “self-adjust” in the same way. Problems that may seem insurmountable now, may actually be much more reachable after we go through some growth – whether it’s emotional, physical, mental, or even spiritual. The trick is to not get discouraged when that hoop seems so far away. Look around you and see if there are other hoops set-up that are more within your reach. Play on those hoops and grow, with the faith that you’ll soon graduate to the regulation hoops.
This same principal can be applied to bloggers as well. While we would all love to have bazillions of readers and followers, the truth is – it’s a process. If you keep checking your stats and get disappointed that you don’t have x number of page views today, you might get disappointed and think you’re doing something wrong. But if you put it into the perspective of your own blog’s growth, you might miss the picture of seeing constant growth because you’re so focused on trying to reach millions of followers. Focusing on the “adult-sized” goal prevents you from enjoying reaching the “kid-sized” goal.
Whether you’re a blogger or not, we can strive to always be better, stronger, faster, but don’t let big goals overshadow the smaller goals you are able to achieve right now, today.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Pro Dunk Hoops. If you’re a baller or shot caller, check out their basketball goal systems. Impala with 20 inch blades not included. All opinions are my own.
One thought so far... »
