life.goals # 1 : DON'T RUN AWAY FROM CHALLENGES, RUN OVER THEM.

Story time : Challenges make champions

One day John came home from school in a bad temper . He slammed the door shut behind him with a bang and flung his school bag on the floor. hearing the commotion, his father called out to him " what's the matter, john? is everything okay?"
"I will never play football again. Never, never , ever again," John replied. he was almost in tears. John's father realised that his son was extremely upset, so he warmly called out, " come here and sit down. what's the matter? tell me."

John sat down on the sofa beside his father. "Dad ,there is going to be under 16 football tournament next month. we have spent every free minute practicing and training. Today the coach and our principal were going to name the final team and most importantly the captain. Well they have named Jack as the captain. he is not even a good player. his father is rich and had political connections so he called the principal and they made Jack the captain. "Can u believe it? I am not gonna be part of this team and I am never going to play football again!" mourned John.

John's father listened to his son calmly. " John, you have always dreamed of playing this match and making a name for yourself. Are you really going to let one disappointment shatter all your dreams?"
"But dad it's not fair..." said John.
"May be it is not. But John, there are lot of instances in life where you will be tested. There will be obstacles which you will have to overcome and disappointments that you might have to suffer. Who knows Jack will be in five years and where you might be? Will you give up your dreams just because of one phone call?
"Wouldn't it be better if you worked harder and play for your team? It does not matter whether you are the captain or not. Each player in a team is equally important."

Seeing that his son still looked angry and mutinous, he continued:
"Let me tell you a story. Once a man watched a butterfly trying to get out of its cocoon. The butterfly struggled and struggled till the man felt sorry for the poor insect. He cut open the cocoon so that the butterfly could fly free. However, the butterfly had to struggle so that its wings could develop and become strong."

"Dad," John interrupted impatiently. "I am talking about football and you are telling me about butterfly wings!"

"That is what I am trying to tell , my son. Sometimes life makes us struggle so that we can develop the strength to face difficulties. Those who gave up easily, do not want to make any effort or get the wrong sort of help and they are never prepared for the next obstacles or the next battle that comes in their way . So they never learn to fly on their own or stand up on their feet."

" when you play football, you have to compete against 11 players. There is a goalkeeper to block your every goal. Would football still be fun if there was no goalkeeper and you could kick in the balls as many times as you liked?"
John listened to his father's words seriously and realised what he was unable to understand.

" I promise to do my best, dad," he said with a smile. " I wont run away from any challenge again."

                                                                        THE END