What we valourise

I'm not sure why I've been getting a bad reaction to certain types of motivational speeches.

It is to the trope of overcoming adversity after injury. I get it's a painful and courageous journey. But after checking in with my agitation, another story came to mind.

I remember hearing an interview when Harry Redknapp was named manager of a first division English Premier League team. I don't recall the exact exchange, but I remember the sentiment.

The interviewer congratulated Harry and asked how he dealt with the incredible stress of managing one of the biggest teams in the league?

Harry calmly replied he had been in this business for a long time. He had a pretty good idea of what he was signing up for. It was a career he had chosen, loved and was paid extremely well for.

Harry reflected it must be infinitely more stressful to be a single mum with a couple of kids living on a council estate and trying to make ends meet every week. We should be more worried by that sort of pressure.

ONE THING I know is that I loved Harry that day.

We valourise the football manager and not the single mum. The guy with the life-threatening injury, not the wife who lives through it with him. And we need to hear more stories of this type of courage and resilience.