Butter your own toast

Self reliant athletes

Have to put the bread in the toaster too

I saw this quote somewhere recently, it was aimed at young people, but it applies to us all. It is a variation on the “give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, he eats for a lifetime” quote.

I can show someone how to butter their toast, I may even do it 2-3 times, they then have to start buttering it themselves. If they are good, they may then start trying different types of butter, or bread, or even making toasted sandwiches.

Some people turn up every week, cap in hand and an expectant look:  “please butter my toast again”, without progressing.

The article this was mentioned in, said that you can’t go through life expecting people to butter your toast for you all the time. You ask people for help in showing you how, but it is then up to you to do something with it.

This is especially prevalent in gyms and many sports squads, where people turn up, are in the room, but aren’t engaging with their own bodies. They are paying money out and hoping that through some power of osmosis they will get better.

Other people can definitely help you- that is why they are experts – either through knowledge or previous experience, but you have to butter your own toast.

The athlete is the person who plays the sport or competes in the arena. They are the one who has to make decisions in the heat of the battle. In order to become self reliant athletes, they need to accept responsibility for their own actions.

Only by looking inside yourself and becoming responsible for your own learning will you actually get better.