The impact of this story has stayed with me since I read it years ago. How often do we forget to thank the people that put us in place to succeed (packs our parachute)? Whether it’s in your personal life, professional life or sports career, use this story to inspire you to start thanking those people. The following was taken from “The is Good: A Journey On Overcoming Adversity” and can also be found in “Challenger Deep: Stories, Fables, and Lessons to Rise Above Adversity.”
Chapter 19: We Don’t Go It Alone
“Always remember people that have helped you along the way, and don’t forget to lift someone up.”- Roy Bennett
Often, we forget the numerous people that made sacrifices to allow us to be where we are. Whether they are people in history that enabled us the right to do what we love, or friends and family that gave their time or money, we aren’t where we are alone. Coming off a win, I wanted to ensure that we were taking time to appreciate how we had gotten here.
Who Packs your Parachute
Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!”
“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.
“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If it hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I wondered how many times I might have seen him and not even said, ‘Good morning.’ Or ‘How are you?’ or anything because I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.”
Plumb thought of the long hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.
Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?” Everyone has someone, who provides what they need to make it through the day. We all have different kinds of parachutes that need packing. Sometimes, it is our physical parachute, our mental parachute, our emotional parachute, or maybe our spiritual parachute that needs packing.
Sometimes through life’s daily challenges, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. We are too focused on what isn’t good or too busy to stop and show appreciation. We forget that we are here because of others and that we owe it to these people and to ourselves to bring our joy.
Put into Action:
*Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you. As you go through this week, this month, or even this year, recognize people who pack your parachute and give a compliment, or do something nice for them.
*Use for pregame. Ask each player to think about 1 person whom without them they wouldn’t have this opportunity to play tonight. Ask them to text or call them if they are still with us and tell that person they are playing for them tonight because they “packed their parachute” and allowed them to be in this position. Then have them put the initials of that person on their body somewhere and take them out on the field with them.
This story as well as a handful of other inspiring messages can be found in “This is Good” at: https://www.amazon.com/This-Good-Journey-Overcoming-Adversity/dp/B088T26ZBD
Tami Matheny is owner of Refuse2LoseCoaching. She is a Mental Game Coach and Author. Her books include: “This is Good” at: https://r2lc.com/this-is-good-a-journey-on-overcoming-confidence, “The Confident Athlete: 4 Easy Steps to Build and Maintain Confidence” https://r2lc.com/the-confident-athlete-4-easy-steps-to-build-and-maintain-confidence/, “Challenger Deep: Stories, Fables, and Lessons to Help You Rise Above Adversity” https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Deep-Stories-Fables-Adversity/dp/B09MYVSLMR and “The Confidence Journal”. All books can be purchased online at Amazon. For group discounts or signed copies contact tami@tamimatheny.com.
For more information on mental training contact tami@tamimatheny.com follow us on twitter @tamimatheny and @r2lcoaching and visit our website: http://www.tamimatheny.com
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