When it comes to the crowd of people in our lives, they can quickly be divided into two groups, and it’s critical that you understand the difference if you’re going to learn to be aware of the crowd without being afraid of it.

Watchers are the largest group…

Watchers can range all the way form harsh critics to passive observers.  Sometimes they are just there to see you fail, or succeed, or just to see if anything amazing happens, but they aren’t really “in your corner.”  Too many times we spend way too much time and energy focused on watchers, and as a result we miss the most important people in the crowd.  Let’s call the next group the “in crowd” in the crowd, because you really need this second group in your corner.

…but Catchers are the most important

If you’re attempting to pull off anything of significance, you’re going to find yourself at the very limits of what you think you can handle.  Success isn’t possible without risk, and risk carries with it the need for growth and stretching beyond what has been attempted before.  Inherent in risk, as well, is the oft-crossed fine line between greatness and goat.  Ask any athlete who has lived both of those moments and you will find that the only thing that was different was the outcome.  Their talent level didn’t change.  Their effort was consistent. A wind gust here or a slip there can be the difference between kicking or missing the winning field goal.  From being carried off on the shoulders of the watchers, or leaning on the strong shoulders of the catchers.

Catchers are your greatest fans, because catchers are there for you when you fall.  They know it’s not an “if” because they know that you are destined to be great, and included in that destiny are times of great effort without great results.  So, they wait.  They watch, just like all the others, but they know that when the others walk away, their job is just beginning.  They are the ones who believe in you, encourage you, and remind you that greatness is in the next kick, the next presentation, or the next chapter you write. They are in the crowd, but they are also in your corner.

Catchers are small in number, but big in impact.  A whisper from a catcher is louder than the applause or jeers of those watching.

Everyone needs more catchers.  In fact, as you’ve read this, you’ve been encouraged just by the thought of them.  My words are catching you right now, and you’re finding the strength to get up, dust off, and try again.

There are people in your life who are also attempting great things, and they need catchers, too.  The beauty of it all is that you becoming a catcher for them is a win-win for you both. You give, and then you receive.  It’s the boomerang effect: what we throw out comes back to us.

Are you attempting great things?  Impossible dreams?  Scary beginnings that find you stretched beyond your abilities and in desperate need of catchers?

Be a catcher first, and you’ll find that you will never fall alone.

Who are the people in your life that you can catch?  Drop them a note or go post something encouraging on their Facebook wall!

Who are the catchers in your life?  When was the last time you told them how encouraging and life-giving their actions are to you?  Why not start now?