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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Opinions - Joye Ritchie Greene
He remarked that what was so incredible about Moses and others was that track and field athletes competed by themselves and what they achieved was because of their own greatness. He said whatever he achieved on the basketball court was because of a team effort. Now anyone who knows anything about basketball would know that Michael Jordan was one of the greatest players of the sport. Many of the plays he made on the court were described as superhuman; so to have such a phenomenal athlete in awe of others should give us pause to think about how we view ourselves and what we have accomplished. When I heard Michael Jordan speak so candidly about the greatness of other players the first thought that came to my head was how incredibly humble he is. While he played, most people would say that he was the best. Now after retirement, great young players like Lebron James are being described as “Jordanesque.” The fact that Jordan can see such greatness and admire this greatness in others should remind us of the power and greatness we all have within ourselves. While it is always refreshing and definitely an ego booster to have someone tell us how great we are, this recognition must first begin with us. Many times people can see greatness in others that the individual cannot see herself. In order to experience this greatness in yourself, you must first learn to love yourself. I cannot receive wonderful kudos from admirers if I have self-doubt or even self-loathing. In fact, others cannot see your greatness if a cloud of negativity towards self is blocking the view. However, interestingly enough, there are some people who feed off this negativity in hopes of it bringing another kind of attention to self. Of course this sort of thinking is quite warped, but it is not unheard of among young people especially. During this stage in our human development, we are often confused and unsure of many things in our lives. Being in this state of uncertainty, we sometimes make choices that do more harm than good. Therefore, it is crucial for parents and other consenting adults to guide and direct the young people in their lives towards loving self. For years, advertising campaigns told us that we wanted to be “like Mike.” The unfortunate truth about advertising is that people believe what they are told, especially when they are told it repeatedly. Therefore, if as a young person, or perhaps not so young person, you were told that you actually wanted to be like someone else, then it would only make sense that you would concentrate on being that person, and not yourself. Today, we have far too many people behaving like someone else. Many of our young people do not even speak like Bahamians, let alone conduct themselves in the manner in which their elders were taught. This week I challenge you to look in the mirror and try to see yourself through your eyes and not the eyes of someone else. The advertisers continue to brainwash us on so many levels, but we can contain it. Find the things in your life that make you great. We all have greatness within us; it is just up to us to find it. If “Mike” can see the greatness in others, can you not at least find the greatness in yourself? About the author: Joye Ritchie-Greene is an Educational Consultant, Writer and Martial Arts Instructor. She is the owner/operator of The Bahamas Martial Arts Academy; president of Time-Out Productions; and is also a columnist for the Freeport News. She has a B.A. in English and an M.S. in Human Resources, resides in Freeport, Grand Bahama with her husband and enjoys playing tennis. Joye can be reached at joye_hel_ena@hotmail.com
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