Watching so much of the 2020 Olympics had me thinking. Those elite athletes have laser-sharp focus and make a tremendous effort within a minute skill set. Countries don’t send one athlete to do EVERY event or even a Noah Ark’s pair, but a team. An advanced team to compete, each in their area of expertise.
What captured my thoughts was this: if an olympiad doesn’t have the unrealistic expectations of doing it all, why do I? Somehow, my upbringing, where I was told I had to work twice as hard to get half as much as people who were born with more privilege, has been my driving factor. Do I regret my accomplishments? Of course not. Do I now value not trying to do it all. Hell yes!
The Olympics has helped drive home my new embrace of doing what I can as I can. I fully embrace that I don’t have a personal team to pick up the slack. I’ve had a fluid schedule for years now. Juggling what needed to be juggled, given the myriad of deadlines.
Yet, there was always some part of me, my damn inner critic, who longs to be a Super Negro, nagged that there was more to be had or more to be done. Not just in terms in money. If nothing else, my life has been proof that I’m not chasing money. Trying not to chase after poverty either.
What usually stops me from asking for help, much less assembling a team, though, is the lack of funding. I don’t feel right asking people to essentially donate their time for my creative cause. The other side of it is that I’ve learned to do many creative things in pursuit of a low-budget project.
At the same time, I don’t need an Olympic team to complete the things I’m doing. A small group of dedicated people who gathered for a common cause would do. Of course, the bigger the ask, the more the participants have to invest in their time and effort.
For now, I’m going to do as much as realistically can. One day, I’ll have my team.
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