The Little Things

I’m sure most of us have heard a coach blame a bad loss on the little things that happen in a game. They huddle us up in the locker room at the end of the game and let us know what we did wrong. More often than not, the coach tells us the little things is what got us. “You guys didn’t hustle up the court” “You didn’t hold your blocks long enough” “You didn’t finish that move when you had the chance” You guys get the gist. On those long rides home from away games or meets, I had time to reflect on what I did and didn’t do. Did I do those extra little things that could have impacted the outcome? Was I giving my best effort?

After four years of playing sports, I realized that the little things that happen in games had the biggest influence on the outcome of the game. I realized this had a direct relation to things that go on in our everyday lives. I know all of us have had those days where the last thing we want to do is wake up to our alarms. We think to ourselves “Hitting the snooze one time won’t hurt” That snowballs into a big mess that leaves you late for school. Then you think back “Were those few extra minutes of sleep worth it?”

Even the little gestures that you display in the real world. Things such as waiting a little bit longer to hold the door for someone. Minding your manners by saying please and thank you to those who do things for you. In the moment you don’t think anything of it, you just think you’re being polite, but in all reality, you could have just made that person’s day. That, in my opinion, is the most satisfying reward a person can get.

One of the greatest American educators, Booker T. Washington once said: “Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.” Think about it. How are you going out of your way and making that extra effort to see a better outcome? Are you doing those little things in life that seem so meaningless?

I challenge you, the members of the Iowa FFA, to make those extra efforts in times where they might not seem relevant. Go out of your way during your everyday life, to see lasting the impacts it has on others. Don’t get caught up in the big picture trying to pull off big gestures and start focusing on the little things.

Yours in blue,

Nole Bochmann

Northwest State Vice President