“Why Not You?”

I may be in Bronco country, and I may have missed about 87% of the Super Bowl due to trying to cook and eat dinner while simultaneously bathe, feed, diaper, and put my kid to bed on time, as well as squeeze in a shower myself, but I caught the interview with the winning quarterback Russell Wilson, and just loved what he had to say.

“Why not you?”  Russell’s father used to ask him this question, as a way of saying, “I believe in you.  You should believe in yourself.”  Apparently the quarterback is something like 5’11”, which is pretty itty bitty in terms of professional football players, but that didn’t matter.  Clearly, because they just totally whooped some Bronco behind, and he was the man to lead his team to that victory.  But before all of that, at some point in his life, he needed to make the decision whether or not he believe he had it in him to one day become a professional football player.  A Super Bowl Champion.  With this mindset of, “Why not me?”, he was laying the groundwork.

Do you ever put yourself in a box?  Do you set imaginary limits on yourself based on your confidence in your talents or intelligence?  I hate that I do it, but I do.  And it hurts me, big time.

I love the story of the underdog.  The boy who was cut from his high school team who went on to be one of the biggest names ever in MBA history (Jordan).  The high school drop out turned rocket scientist (big bro shout-out.  that’s basically how it went down, right? ;P)  The scrappy team you always see in movies who go on to win big.  The rags to riches stories.  The Cinderella stories.  The heart-warming, tear-jerking, inspirational stories of hope and hard work and dedication and parents who say things like “Why not you?”

So, why not you?  Why not me?  What is out there for us that we decided that we can’t have or accomplish because we’re too weak, too dumb, too lazy, too busy?  It doesn’t have to be something huge like a Super Bowl Championship either.  Why not you be the one in a happy, healthy relationship?  Why not you be the one with the booming new business.  Why not you be the one who can keep the house clean, the dogs fed, and the kids happy?  Why not you be the one who can mediate, run a marathon, manage your fiances, deadlift 300 lbs. . . . Why not you?  Why not me?

Why not?