A few people who know me well recommended I watch Ted Lasso. I’m in the middle of it, and it is resonating deeply. One quote from Season 1, Episode 3 stood out to me.
For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field.
Ted Lasso
This was almost word-for-word the philosophy of one of my mentors from my drum and bugle corps days who also happens to be who I named my kid after.
In my days performing, it meant focusing on being a better teammate and working to be a better performer regardless of whether that was reflected in our score or our placement.
Today, it means quieting the part of me that seeks external recognition in the form of promotions / titles at work and focusing on delivering and showing up for the sake of better supporting my team and the product. It means doing glue work even if it’s not recognized. And it means finding balance so I can also show up for my family in the same way.
Honestly, it’s hard to keep this up sometimes. One thing that helps is giving myself credit when I focused on the important things that aren’t otherwise recognized.