In high school, I wasn't great at basketball. I didn't have the skills to play competitively, but I still wanted to be part of the team. So, I became one of the team managers - handing out water, keeping stats, sweeping the court. What I didn't expect was that my time off the court would teach me something I've carried with me ever since.

Our coach had a reputation. He was loud. Demanding. Often sharp with his words. To some players, he sounded angry - like he was constantly criticizing them. A few of them took that intensity as judgment. They shrank under the pressure, and some even walked away. But others heard him differently. They heard not criticism, but conviction. They understood that beneath the bark was belief - that he saw more in them, and refused to let them settle for anything less.

Not every hard-sounding voice inside comes from fear. There's another voice - your inner coach - and it can sound equally intense. But the intention behind it is completely different. The inner coach challenges you not because you're not enough, but because it sees everything you're capable of becoming. It speaks with urgency, not because you're failing, but because you're ready to stretch. The voice might still feel uncomfortable, but if you listen closely, there's vision in it.
It might be the voice of Inner Wisdom.