There was a big storm one day and thousands of starfish washed up on shore. A beach walker was there early in the morning and saw the results of the storm. He knew starfish can’t survive long without water, so he started picking them up one by one and hurling them back into the ocean. There were thousands upon thousands of them, and it took him a few seconds to rescue each one. A bystander watched him for several minutes, confused at how this man possibly thought he was going to save all of these starfish. So he curiously asked him, what on earth are you doing? You know you can’t possibly save all these starfish, there are thousands of them, and only one of you. Most of them will die anyway. You can’t possibly be making a difference.
The walker looked at the bystander, picked up a starfish , and hurled it into the sea. ‘I made a difference for that one’. And continued on.
You’re a coach. And that’s a superpower. You may not realize it, but your kids are like those starfish some days. They’re washed up on the beach , hopeless sometimes, and you have the power to be the bystander, and let them struggle and die, or the walker, and pick them up and give them a chance. I challenge you to be the beach walker, not the bystander.
