Words that were helpful to me.

And they might be helpful to you too.

“My mental health genes are so—” I told her. “I’ve been so unhappy for so long, and I just keep having this recurring thought that I’m doomed.”

Randomly, my therapist is a big basketball fan.

And at this point, she injected Kobe Bryant into the conversation.

Then our session timed out (because I do online therapy).

Afterwards, she sent me this lovely message:

“Dear Ross Horton,

It was great seeing you today.

When Kobe Bryant said that he always knew he would be the best basketball player in the world and that he never had a second option, he was so confident he was going to make it….and he did. I wonder what would happen if you believed in yourself, if you actually thought you would succeed, if you didn’t assume there were multiple other options…”

Wise words.

I’m not there yet.

Not even close.

But that simple message (“believe in yourself”) resonated with me on this day.

Maybe it will resonate with one other person reading this post (if anyone reads this post).

Even if we don’t believe in ourselves, we can still fake it, right?

No CTA.

Believe in yourself.

And even if you don’t, pretend you do.

That’s my message for you today.

For whatever it’s worth.

I’ll never “be like Mike” (that’s Michael Jordan, the best basketball player ever) or Kobe Bryant in my field of choice.

But that’s okay.

My goal as a content creator in this basketball analogy is simple:

I’d just like to be…

• A tall white dude on the bench
• Wearing a fly jumpsuit
• Despite my inability to jump

That’s a SMART goal for me (and for all of us, I think, regardless of our gender because again, this is an NBA analogy).

We shouldn’t aspire to be like Mike or Kobe. Rather, we should aim to be like a tall dude on the bench wearing a fly jumpsuit.

• Engaged
• Prepared
• And learning to fly without elite athleticism (or wings).

P.S. What’s your #1 SMART goal right now?

R. Ross Horton II

R. Ross Horton is a writer, editor, and musician based in Palm Coast, FL. Last year he published his first book, Love Songs and Suicide: A Travel Memoir, Romance, and Tragic Musical Comedy. At Lovesong.blog, Ross strives to help people find harmony in a chaotic world. Visit this website’s about page to learn more.

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