What comes to your mind when you think of greatness?
Given that today marks the first Sunday of the NFL’s regular season, as well as the fact that our Saturdays have been steeped in college football since late August, I’d assume that a healthy percentage of people’s minds immediately gravitate to the gridiron. Maybe they, like many of my Bills Mafia friends, see greatness as something to be achieved and proven with a Super Bowl win this year. Or, they might see it in the chaos of a comeback, the likes of which we saw last night as Arch Manning picked apart the Buckeyes’ secondary in the fourth quarter, leading Texas to a 24-23 win and a possible No. 1 ranking in college football.
Others might find themselves thinking about another sport they love, like their favorite MLB team playing well going into the postseason. For instance, the Yankees going 7-3 in their last 10 games, an emotional Subway Series gameday (and win) on September 11, and Aaron Judge’s recent return. By the way, that example was completely random. Just trying to make sure I represent everyone’s viewpoints equally.
For some, sports are the last thing that comes to mind when they stop to consider greatness. Instead, they think of art, in all its various, beautiful forms. For example, Kasey always talks about the moment she saw true brilliance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. At the end of the book, Harry and Hermione use a Time Turner that, ultimately, allows Harry to save himself from the Dementors by producing a full, powerful stag Patronus.
I may be guilty of an assumption here, but I’m thinking that example doesn’t sit too well with my English teacher friends. They might prefer me to refer to Charles Dickens’ opening line in A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…,” Tolkien’s “Not all those who wander are lost” from The Fellowship of the Ring, or Shakespeare’s “…there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so…” in Act II of Hamlet.
Still, others might immediately think back to the wonder of the art and architecture they’ve seen while traveling the world. In their minds they recall the peace and tragedy found in Michelangelo’s Pietà, the scale and impossibility of the Pyramids of Giza, or the seeming endlessness of the Great Wall of China.
Wherever your mind goes when you consider greatness, the only thing I’m absolutely sure of is this: You will find greatness where you’re willing to look for it and where you’re skilled enough to find it.
By skill, I’m not simply referring to the technical ability we typically attribute to field experts, though that can certainly enhance our ability to perceive greatness in a given space. Rather, I’m pointing to our ability to notice that which surrounds us. To see what others might fail to see. Perhaps a better word to express what I’m trying to describe is sensitivity: our very ability to sense that which is happening around us at any given time.
All of this leads me to a couple of questions: Where do you see greatness in the people around you? How are you using it to affirm and encourage them to continue running their race?
As for me, I see so many examples of greatness in the lives of the people I’m privileged to live alongside.
I see greatness in the manager who’s struggling to do their best in spite of a broken system and poor leadership. In the kid who’s trying their best and crushing it in college and in the kid in their first year of high school. In the district leader who holds their head high and keeps their focus on kids in the midst of chaos.
I see greatness in the veteran principal who’s trying something way outside of their comfort zone and leading it with a ton of intentionality. In former students who always seem to be joyful while trying to make it in this very hard world. In people who always choose love in difficult circumstances.
I see greatness in the second-year principal who, despite leading incredibly well, didn’t get the results they wanted in their first year but continues to show up and push to do what’s best for kids and teachers. In the humility of an old friend willing to “bury the hatchet.” In the teacher who keeps putting kids first in a building where teachers seem to come last.
I see greatness in the friend who keeps showing up with a positive attitude in spite of excessive criticism. In the faithful strategist who keeps reaching out to help an unresponsive leader. In the unfaltering encouragement of a leader who continues to believe in their team after a difficult year.
I see greatness in the hard work of a school that turned things around for kids in the span of one year. In the speaker who doesn’t just show up, inspire people, and make them laugh, but who never fails to follow up and be there for others in the wake of an event. In the forward thinking, patience, and persistence of teammates who plan and coordinate events.
I see greatness in the faithfulness of friends who always pick up the phone and who never fail to call. I see greatness in the hope so many people carry with them as they search for a better tomorrow.
I see greatness.
I see greatness.
I see greatness.
Yet, in spite of my ability to see it, I don’t always affirm it. For as often as I see greatness in others, I rarely take the time to tell them that I see it. In fact, I think I’m more likely to talk about the greatness I see “out there” – in sports, in art, and in the world – than I am to talk about the greatness that’s so wonderfully exemplified by the people I know and love.
And so, as I close, I’m asking you to consider these questions:
Do you see the greatness that exists in the people around you?
If so, how are you affirming and encouraging them to continue running their race?
If not, I wonder what’s getting in our way?
More importantly, I wonder how much better our lives – all of our lives – would be if we did.
#ChooseToBeGreat
Angelo
CHOOSE TO BE GREAT 