08/24/2026
Empowering Monday | Your Capacity Is Not Their Capacity
As we gear up for football season, I've been thinking about something we see every weekend during the season.
Everybody watching the game has an opinion. š
That play was terrible.
He should've done this.
That was definitely a penalty.
How did he fumble THAT?!
From our seats, we have the benefit of watching the play from a completely different angle.
But we're not on the field.
We're not making decisions in real time. We're not feeling the pressure, managing the variables, or adjusting to something that didn't go according to plan.
Life can be a lot like that.
Whether you're caring for someone you love or leading a team, people looking in from the outside may have plenty of thoughts about what they would do.
But your capacity and someone else's capacity may be very different.
Your resources may be different.
Your responsibilities may be different.
Your relationships, circumstances, energy, finances, support system, and even the information available to you may be different.
So be careful about measuring your best against someone else's hypothetical best.
Your best is enough.
Even professional athletes study the film, practice the plays, prepare for their opponent, and walk onto the field with a strategy.
And then game day happens.
The play develops differently. Someone misses an assignment. There's a fumble. A flag gets thrown. The entire strategy may have to change in a matter of seconds.
Sound familiar, caregivers and leaders? š
Preparation matters. But so does giving yourself enough grace and breathing room to respond to what's actually happeningānot what someone watching from the sidelines thinks should be happening.
And remember: spectators rarely get on the field to help run the play.
So take the advice that's useful. Lean on the people who are genuinely willing to support you. Release the commentary that isn't.
Then give yourself enough room to let the play develop.
You may discover that when you stop trying to perform according to someone else's view from the stands, you have much more clarity about how you need to show up for your team.
š Here's to a great season!