The Echo We all Have on the World

The Echo We all Have on the World

I was going to write about the subgroup on reddit r/weightlifting, but then I realized that an article lashing out on a few of these silly boys wouldn’t make the world one bit better.  There are some people on r/weightlifting that are simply trying to understand the sport that I love, so I don’t want to lump everyone on that group into one big pile.  As a matter of fact, I don’t want to answer negativity with more negativity. 

I simply want to shed some light on the effects of words.  If you really stop to think about what something negative said to someone can do, I’d like to think that most of you would think twice before saying anything negative to anyone.  I mean, it’s a chain reaction that can echo around the whole world.  Let me give you an example.

When I was competing, I would scan the Internet to see if someone was saying something negative about me.  I would literally skip over hundreds of positive comments to find that one negative comment, and then I would spend the rest of the night obsessing about that comment.  Why would they say something bad about me? Don’t they know how hard I work? Don’t they see how far that I have come?

Yes, this was my insecurity and an example of something that was missing inside me, but at that moment I didn’t know any of that.  Those negative comments would trigger me to be arrogant, grumpy, and closed off to others.  Who knows how many young athletes that I brushed off because I was in a bad mood?  What did that brushing off cause?  By brushing off some young athlete, I could have caused the confidence of that young man or woman to drop causing them to feel insecure and worthless.  How do you think that caused those people to treat the people around them?

Do you see what one bad mood can cause?  What if we all focused a little more on being nice or on being positive?  What would that do to the world?  Am I a hopeless optimist?  Probably, but sometimes you simply have to say the right thing, and let the world decide how to handle those words.  I am going to start right now.

You guys on reddit have the power to help people that are learning about the sport.  You have a big platform to spread the positives that can come from this sport like:

·      Hard work

·      Perseverance

·      Goal Setting

·      Overcoming adversity

·      Critical thinking

How does spreading rumors about athletes and coaches without any facts help our sport?  It doesn’t help.  I don’t care what you say about me.  I have laughed about that mess for a couple of years now.  However, you guys don’t know who can laugh that mess off, and who takes that mess personally. What does their reactions do to the people around them?  Do you guys really not care about people at all?  Do you really not want to have a positive effect on the world? Reddit has provided you guys with a platform that gets attention from thousands of people.  That’s powerful, but that power comes with responsibility.

I am not just talking about reddit.  I am just using them as an example. We all have this responsibility.  How I treat my athletes will affect the way that they treat others.  Who knows, maybe the way that I treat them will spill out on the way that they treat their future spouse, children, or their athletes if they coach.  I take that responsibility seriously.  It was a coach in high school that took the time out to tell me that I was capable of being a good athlete that changed my entire path.  One coach during one conversation changed everything.  Now maybe that never happened to you, but I am telling you right now that happened to me. 

This all means that I have to think about every word that comes from my mouth or every word that I type on a computer or phone.  It means I need to think about my action and my body language when I am around my family, friends, athletes, or even strangers.  Just think about all the ways that we have to influence others:

·      Instagram

·      Facebook

·      Twitter

·      Snapchat

·      Sites like Reddit

·      Blogs

·      Podcasts

·      YouTube

·      At the gym

·      At school

·      Sporting events

·      Parties

·      Life in general

Do you really think that you can go through life without influencing or affecting others?  If so, you are lying to yourself.  We all have opportunities with some have bigger platforms than others.  We are all responsible for the way that we use those platforms.  Guys like Nathan Damron and Morgan McCullough are going to have massive opportunities to influence and encourage others.  If they neglect those opportunities, they will one day be sitting in a chair like I am right now regretting those missed opportunities. 

Athletes have a huge responsibility to think wisely about their actions.  They have a chance to change lives.  One kind word might change the path of a younger athlete.  I know that when Nathan says any positive words you our younger athletes, their whole bodies glow with excitement.  You guys can influence others to do better. 

Coaches, you all have an even bigger responsibility.  You are with these young people each and every day.  Everything that you say or do can alter the lives of these young people.  Heck, the way that you treat your spouse can be the one good or bad example for these athletes.  Do they see you loving your spouse and children?  Do they see you respecting your spouse when you are away from your family? This can go a long ways when it comes to influencing your athletes.

Yes we want to create the best athletes in the world, but creating better men and women as a whole is much more important.  When I see my former athletes becoming doctors, getting married, and helping others, I am more proud of that athlete than any Olympian of Professional athlete that I have coached. 

I know that some of you will laugh this off, and you will say that Coach Mash is going soft.  That’s ok!  I get it, and you can do whatever you want.  All of this is just something that I had to say.  I hope that one of you will be influenced to treat people a bit better.  If that happens, then all of this was more than worth it.