Everything You Do Matters: YOU Matter
“Everything you do matters”. I’ve heard this quote many times before, but it never stuck with me like it did when my hockey coach, Josh Issertell, told my team in the locker room, as we were down by two goals. The lecture started out about hockey and being responsible on the ice, as everything you do when playing carries over, and matters. However, the conversation ended in talking about how everything you do in life adds up. Whether that be true in school, sports, activities, or life in general, everything YOU do can make a huge difference in the outcome.


We live in a society today where the little things we do often get looked over- as if it has a way of making us think these things don’t matter. They do. I want to share a few real life examples of little things making a big difference.


Kindness: Being kind to everyone you meet is key. You don’t know what’s going in anyone else’s life but your own. Everything… affects everything. By being kind to someone, who knows, you could be saving that person’s life and not even knowing it.


Work ethic: Having a good work ethic is paramount in almost everything you do. I’ve seen many young hockey players who were extremely talented naturally, who didn’t have the strong work ethic, that are average now, if even. How you approach something and the effort you put towards it defines you as a person and what will come of it. Many people have had their dreams slip through their fingers, simply because they haven’t worked as hard as they could to get to where they wanted to be.


Thoughtfulness and understanding: At practice or in a game, if someone on my hockey team does something impressive or carries out a good play, my hockey coach will give them a pat on the back or say something about it. When you do something right, Josh never lets it go unnoticed. In life, being thoughtful and understanding are two of the most crucial traits to have. Merely taking the time to tell someone good job can bring light to their life if they may have trouble finding it.


The moral of the story is that everything… affects everything. Everything adds up, and everything you do matters- even the littlest things.


So today, and every day, remember that kindness, a strong work ethic, and thoughtfulness can all cause a life to breathe easier, yours or someone else’s, and that all of these things are worth commemorating and working towards.