Each individual has qualities which make them who they are. Being authentic means being who you are and not trying to be something or someone you are not. There are circumstances where a person is forced into a mold not of their own choosing. A mold created for them by someone desperately wanting to take advantage of natural talents and abilities for the betterment of the organization. So the toil and force feeding into the mold begins. At first it seems noble. The person being squeezed into a tight role can take the high road being viewed as cooperative and willing to be a team player. That attitude is laudatory even if its not the right mold the individual envisages. The result however is a poor imitation of the real thing.
A living example of being a poor imitation of the real thing is being played out for all to see in Denver, Colorado. A young football player, Tim Tebow, so anxious to fulfill a life long dream by being a professional football quarterback is being forced into a role he is not designed to fit. His goal of being a professional quarterback is laudatory but the quarterback they are trying to make him to be does not allow the young man to do what he does best. It is a case of putting a round peg into a square hole. But what happens when the hole is round and the peg is square? An attempt can be made to shave the edges of the peg until they fit the hole but the outcome is still average or below. Neither the football coach nor the quarterback are happy. Rather frustration will prevail as the young quarterback directs his efforts to the best of his ability only to be average. The coach who uses tried and true methods gives up in frustration as his young protege fails to measure up to an image he was never designed to become.
There is an answer to this conundrum. It can be found in an old story about three animals all friends who envied each other's abilities and traits. There was a squirrel. a rabbit, and a frog. The frog envied the squirrel as he watched the squirrel glide through the air from tree to tree. The frog asked the squirrel to teach him how he managed to accomplish such a graceful feat. The squirrel shared his technique with the frog and the frog practiced intensely every day trying to do what the squirrel did. Each day the frog would leap from the branch of the tree with every expectation of landing gracefully on the branch of a nearby tree. Unfortunately the frog fell to the ground with a splat. Not to be outworked the frog tried again and again. Sometimes the frog would make the jump a little closer to the tree but not once did he make it to the tree the way the squirrel did.
The rabbit liked the way the squirrel ran so fast in a zig-zag manner eluding every other forest animal wanting to do him harm. The rabbit asked the squirrel how he managed to be so quick and elusive. The squirrel shared his technique with the rabbit and the rabbit practiced intensely trying to become as quick and elusive as the squirrel. Unfortunately he never succeeded. Both the squirrel and the rabbit wanted to know how the frog could hop from one lily pad to the other without getting wet. The frog shared his technique with both animals. They practiced intensely only to sink each time they hit the lily pad.
Each animal wanted to be something they were not designed to be. And even if they were to succeed they would be a poor imitation of the real thing. Success in life comes when we stop trying to be someone else and focus on who we are with strengths and weaknesses included. Real animals unlike the story animals above understand this quirk of nature. They don't try to emulate another animal. They just simply do what they are designed to do.
If the Denver Broncos want a pocket passer, they should get one. Trying to force someone into a mold they don't fit will only produce a poor imitation of the real thing. On the other hand if they want to utilize the talent and ability of the player they drafted, then stop trying to change the player and look for ways to utilize his strengths.
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