Soccer Hands
When I was growing up, I played on a soccer team with just about every other girl in the area. It took me a while to understand the concept of defense, which is where I spent most of my time. One day, the ball came flying at me rather fast, and there was no one else nearby. While I should have met the ball straight on with my head, I shrank away from it and threw my arms over my face in fear. Of course, the ball hit me right on my hands, and I got a penalty AND a nickname for the rest of the season: “Hands.” While I never reacted that way again, it did take a long time to learn that good defense involves running toward the ball rather than away from it.
In life, there are times when something or someone comes at us very fast. Our initial defensive reaction may be to shrink into ourselves, hoping that we will be protected from the onslaught. Often, this approach has the opposite effect, and we get run over by the oncoming person or thing. As we shrink, our fear grows. As scary as it feels, sometimes we need to make ourselves bigger rather than smaller, and move toward that which is coming our way, rather than shrink and try to hide from it. As we learn not to shrink, our confidence grows.