Choose Yourself

I remember Indoor Games PE classes at Primary School, we’d all stand in line leaning against the wall bars waiting to be chosen after two class mates were given the task by our teacher to be team leaders. She would flick a coin in the air and shout, ‘Heads or Tails? Tails chooses first’ to decide which team leader got first dibs at picking.

If you were popular that week, you got chosen first

If you were good at games, you got chosen second.

If you had friends in the team, you got chosen third.

If you were a bully, you got chosen forth.

Then it became a hard choice for the selected leaders, they had their team pretty much in place and anything left in the line-up was surplus to requirements. The choosing would slow down. The leaders and those selected up to that point would have a little team-talk-huddle-thing to discuss the leftovers.

From what I remember there was a core group of around 8 children who were always left at the wall bars wishing the process to be over and begging not to be chosen last.

Being a chubby chick let’s just say when it came to springboards, apparatus, wooden horses and climbing ropes I … well … wasn’t great. I could get my legs wrapped around the knot at the bottom of the rope and that was it.

The springboard never seemed to bounce and spring for me like how did for others.

However, when it came to running, I was always chosen first. I couldn’t get my ass over a wooden horse with grace, but I could make it move on a track.

Today I’m wondering what would’ve happened if the Wall Bar Gripper Gang choose to be like Switzerland, an independent team. My imagination is running riot here, it would have been so awesome if it played like one of those Hollywood/Disney movies where the underdogs become the champions.

Are you clinging to wall bars, waiting at the side to be chosen?

Did someone ask you to line up there or did you go there yourself?

Are you waiting to be selected? How’s that working for you?

Yes, I know. You may be thinking choosing yourself is another cookie-cutter sound-bite from self-help-land. I know that you may may be thinking, ‘how the hell can I choose myself when I have no idea who the hell that person is any more!’ (Hint: A great starting point is your values.)

What could happen if you made a decision to appoint yourself? 

What won’t happen if you don’t choose yourself? 

If you aren’t choosing yourself first, what are you rejecting?