I was very young at the time, perhaps no older then 6 or 7, and playing basketball in the driveway of my house with some of the neighbour hood kids. In the group I felt like I was the youngest, I can't remember all the details but on my team was Daniel D'arcy, much older I think now 12 or 13. As a child the difference in age can feel much greater. As the game progressed my team were losing badly, I felt it and was deeply angry, as angry and frustrated as a 6 year old could be. Without looking at me Danial seemed to notice, and without taking his eyes off the dribbling ball ready for the attack he said something that changed the course of my life forever.
"Don't give them the satisfaction of feeling angry" - Daniel D'arcy.
I was too young to understand it's full meaning and effect, I'm sure Danial was too, but I kept that in my mind and thought about it for years. I eventually came to the conclusion that it's not the score in some pointless game that matters, it's not that they won, it's not that they're better then you. It's that they can make you feel bad, make you feel useless, inferior and frustrated. To win any battle, simply shrug off any loss. That how you play, not just in games but in life, is not about winning or losing, numbers going up or coming down. It's about how you feel. How much your ready to ask for more, fight with just as much enthusiasm in the end as the start.
Daniel D'arcy has since grown up, like me. Life took us in different ways, I may never see him again. He may never know what effect his few words had on me, and I may never thank him fully. All I can do is ask that you, reader reflect on the words given to you as a child that have stayed in your mind. Did someone change your life by remark? For better or worse thank them. they are the unintentional sculptors of the future.
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