“In time or so I’m told, I’m just another soul for sale! Oh well!” -Foo Fighters
The January transfer window just ended. Some clubs will feel like they “had a successful” window, while others will feel like they lost out. For the club I support, I just want the window to recede into the distance as quickly as possible. While I’m making this observation from a really far distance, my view is that the window unsettled a few of our consistent performers.
For a little while in January, players are valued (very publicly) at certain levels by both the club who owns their contract and ones that are interested. Despite my vivid imagination, I cannot get an accurate picture inside of my head how it must feel to have millions of dollars/pound/euros/etc. associated with your name. There is a great scene from the movie Bull Durham where Crash Davis professes that Nuke’s arm is “worth a million bucks a year! All my limbs put together aren’t worth 7 cents a pound.” It’s got to be hard on both sides. The million dollar men must feel a certain amount of pressure to live up to that price tag. While on the other side of the coin, only having lower offers or no offers come in must be difficult on the psyche of young players especially. A month ago, several players within the club could not put a foot wrong. They were firing on all cylinders. For the past few weeks, there have been signs of men caught in too many minds. My hope is that this fades as February moves forward.
While very few of us are professional athletes with transfer fees associated to our names, it’s still easy to get caught up in our value. Whether it’s the amount we earn per annum or the connection with loved ones, there is a temptation to want to know or feel our value. Many of us look for reassurance that we’re “doing a good job” and are wanted. While it’s a normal thing for people to want, it’s completely out of our control. The value that comes from the outside world is not truly up to us. We do not get to decide the value that others put upon us. All we can do is BE VALUABLE!
It’s semantics yes but it’s also the only thing that can be done. Doing the things that are important to the team, your family, the company, etc. is all that you can do. Whether you have an agent or not, your job is to be valuable (or take it away from the financial, be useful). The transfer window is closed. So now is the time to get people to notice you. Do the things that truly matter. Be the one that they can’t live without because you add so much. No one is ever going to put an accurate price tag on your head, so don’t let it affect how you play your game. Even if you’re not an athlete!
“What if I say I’m not like the others!” -Foo Fighters
Pete
Huryk Unlimited 