I just finished watching a montage of the magnificent Zlatan Ibrahimovic. My one take-away from that video is the importance of teammates.
You don’t need just any teammates, you need the right one. And you need them being on the same wavelength as you.
In the said video clip, Zlatan Ibrahimovic can be seen putting in an insane amount of effort, displaying incredible skill, and being an unselfish team player. He crafts beautiful chances, and in each of the cases, with his teammate through on goal, they fail to score.
It brought a realization I had in the past back to the fore. Sometimes, you are at your best. Everything you try blossoms. It is like you have the Midas touch. But when you pass it on to your teammates, they fumble.
They mess things up. Thanks to their bad performance, the team fails. Suddenly, your golden touch is inconsequential.
You don’t get to receive the plaudits you deserve because your teammates failed to measure up. You might even get blamed or punished along with them. Or even more.
Imagine having to go through this for one year, or five, or ten. Or even a lifetime.
That is why some people quit and move on to “another challenge”. When you know that your brilliance or ability will amount to nothing, then you need to start looking for an exit route or another alternative.
Don’t allow your loyalty to rob you of the most productive years of your life. Know when to hold on, know when to fold up, know when to walk away, and know when to run.
The same people who applauded your loyalty would mock your failures. It is worse when some of those people are your teammates and even part of the reason for the failure.
From 2021 and beyond, may our peak period, our most productive days, and our best years not be wasted away through no fault of ours.
I pray we find teammates that will bring out the best in us, spur us on to excellence, and may we be that teammate to others too.
Wilson Joshua is a Video Editor, Content Creator, and Creative Writer.
Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. @IJOSWIL
