I. Don't. Know.
Me and my dad. I love coaching. He's the reason why.
I had a weird moment the other day when I was trying something new, and I was a little bit embarrassed to say that I had no idea what I was doing. But then it hit me, I really don't know. How great is that? Here I am doing something I have never done before, and I truly don't know what I am doing or what I can expect. Instead of being embarrassed, it became enjoyable. I could ask any questions I wanted, because how else was I going to figure it out. Instead of trying to be super macho and just fake my way through it, and then be terrible at it, I just learned.
I started to think about learning at that point, and how great it is. Everyone who knows even a little bit about me knows that I hate school, but I have never hated learning. I hate not knowing things. Even if I just have to delve slightly into something, just so I know something about it, I probably will. But there are so many people who don't.
I know several people that don't care to learn anything. They don't want to figure something out for themselves, they don't care to put any extra effort into anything they do. They just want things to be handed to them. And the craziest part is people let them. Which is absolutely ridiculous, and a completely different topic.
What I don't understand is why. How can people not want to be capable of doing something themselves. Why do they accept that people are going to just hand them everything they need. And it goes for everything. College freshman who can't do their laundry, or 40 year olds who still want to know who FICA is and why they are taking their money.
One of the people I have learned the most from. My best friend Eric.
I have had some great teachers in my life, (some of whom are in the pictures you are seeing), and they have all had one thing in common, that I am realizing just now. They made me figure some things out myself. They made me ask questions. And I owe alot of that to my parents. Because if they hadn't expected that of me, then I would never have excepted so much from my teachers. And the teachers that cared enough to not spoon feed me things, those are the ones I liked the most.
My short answer is that people don't care like they used to. Society as a whole has been so diminished because we don't want to hurt precious feelings, that instead of trying to challenge anything, or put any effort into anything, we just give it to them. "Oh little Johnny, you didn't do your homework because it's too hard? That's okay you tried one question so here are the answers." Some of you may not think these things are happening but I can guarantee you that they are. And those kids are growing up to be useless.
During my time at college I got the chance to talk to some elementary school kids about their learning and their school, (for an education class) and I was astonished at what I heard. These kids were allowed to pay $1 to NOT wear their gym uniform. They could pay another dollar to not have to stretch before playing, which could lead to injuries and improper expectations of physical activity. And then even better, they were able to pay another dollar to just not participate at all. So I repeat, it may seem silly to use little Johnny in math class, but trust me. People, not only kids, are being handed things they shouldn't be.
For whatever reason you want to call it, I didn't have a good time in school. I was always way ahead in the class. Not necessarily of other kids, because there were a group of us that hated it and were bored, but ahead of the class. And why is that? Well because there sits little Johnny, and the school's statistics can't say a kid didn't pass so the entire class has to go over something for the third time, just so little Johnny can pass the class with a 70%. So what happens the next year? That's right! Johnny isn't prepared! So let's all go even SLOWER as we get OLDER just so Johnny graduates. And what is he going to do after graduation? NOTHING! YAY! Good for you Johnny. You just wasted four years of my life, and you are now useless.
Still my favorite teacher ever. Sir Thomas Reese Davies Jr.
Frankly, I don't blame Johnny. I don't blame teachers. I don't blame parents. I do however blame the system as a whole. Because Johnny who I feel sorry for, is literally now useless. There is very little chance of a career there. There is very little chance he provides anything to society. And from what I have learned about "Johnny" from my high school, he spent time in jail for a DUI, and was brought up on drug charges prior to that. All before he (or she, don't want to hurt anyone's feelings...) {<-- see what I did there :D} turns 22 years old.
What is happening though, is that instead of one or two kids coming out of school like this, it's a handful, or a classroom full, or worse. And society is being saturated with people who don't care to do anything for themselves, and they don't care to try. Because why would they! Everything has been handed to them, so why not keep riding that wagon until it dies. Hell, if people wanted to just put the things I want in my lap, I am probably going to take them! But I have never presented myself as that kind of person, and never will, so people don't look at me like that.
I forced these girls to ask questions and to figure things out. And look what happened.
So if you are somebody who maybe doesn't ask a lot of questions, or maybe knows somebody who fits the description of little Johnny, do something about it. ASK QUESTIONS! Do something that isn't hard to learn, just to get into the habit of doing new things. Write out a list of everything you have at least TRIED to do. Not done, or been great at or whatever, but TRIED to do. You might be surprised that your list is either really short, or maybe (like me) your list is really long. I will fully admit that I quit or stop doing alot of things. But because I learn them, know them, and quickly decide whether it is worth more of my time to proceed. For example, here is my list that I can think of off the top of my head:
Baseball, soccer, coaching, teaching, video production, photography, graphic design, football, basketball, swimming, motor-cross racing, snowmobiling, boating, jetskiing, gymnastics, dancing, singing, audio production, audio recording, computer building, software development, website design, app development, website development, writing, blogging, social media ambassador, brand ambassador, golfing, video analysis, instructor, student, computer technician, media consultant, production manager, resident assistant, creative manager, vice president, treasurer, videographer, video editor, IT Manager, landscaper, salesman, Dairy Queen Employee, shooting, snowboarding, skiing, wireless internet installation, track and field, lacrosse, roller hockey, ice hockey, skateboarding, long boarding, radio DJ
Just off the top of my head, is over 50 things that I have learned to do, tried to do, or put any remote effort into figuring out. And most of that stuff I still do to some extent. But that's because I always have asked questions. And I thought that was normal. I thought it was perfectly normal to be sitting somewhere and go, "huh, what's that?" or "I wonder how that works?". There are so many questions to be asked, and there are so many people to ask those questions, but we no longer strive for that. We strive for the IDEA of asking questions, but we never actually do it.
15 of these was hard.
Stop being useless. Ask questions. There are no stupid questions. I fully believe that. Sometimes there are stupid people... but there are never stupid questions. If you don;'t know how to do something, then figure it out. Ask people how to do it. Ask people for advice. Ask people if they can help you. Just ASK! If you never ask the question, you can never find the answer. Plus uhm... GOOGLE!?!?!
And don't be afraid to learn from people you wouldn't think to learn from. I coached 13 year old girls for a season last year. They taught me some amazing things. Maybe more than I even taught them. And they have no clue, but it was me asking myself and sometimes them questions that helped out a lot. I have a very specific style of coaching, and it's because of this team that I was so successful, and why I develop the way I coach. Pretty much all summed up in a hug.
I'm glad I am writing again.
Till Next Time,
Jake Matthew Morrow
@jmorrow020