Watching the NFL, you see opportunity show up in different ways. A player gets injured, and suddenly someone from the practice squad gets a chance to play. Someone who has been preparing, practicing, and waiting gets the call.
There is always somebody who wants to get into the game. Playing in the NFL is a dream, and there are people waiting for their opportunity.
In education, I sometimes face a different reality. We have open positions and opportunities to make a difference, but finding someone ready and willing to step into those roles can be difficult.
Watching football got me thinking about the opportunities in my own life. Where am I waiting for a chance, and where do I already have one?
This weekend, I found one on my phone.
I looked at my screen time and discovered I was spending an average of 42 minutes a day on Instagram. Forty-two minutes of scrolling. I started to wonder what I was looking for and what I was getting out of it.
So I took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off from scrolling. By Monday morning, I felt better. My head was clearer. I wasn't exactly excited about Monday, but I wasn't dreading it either. I felt ready to handle whatever came my way.
And I thought, you know what? Let's keep this going.
What could I do with those 42 minutes? I could write. I could create something. I could take one of the ideas bouncing around in my head and put it into the world.
That's an opportunity sitting right in front of me.
I may never get the call to step onto an NFL field, but I can sit down and write. I can work on a project. I can give my attention to something I keep saying I want to do.
Our schedules and responsibilities are different. I can't tell anyone else where their time is going. But I looked at mine, and there it was: 42 minutes I'd been handing over to scrolling without much thought.
I found 42 minutes.
I'm curious to see what I can create with them.
Where does your time go when you aren't watching it?
Here, I made this. My gift to you, for taking the time to read.
Images are from my imagination, generated by AI. Writing is all me.