⚽ Symbolic decisions and the World Cup
Small (or big) choices can reveal a lot about who you are. You just have to pay attention.
Portuguese version is here :)
I saw a video of a famous Brazilian journalist telling what she did with her first salary, and I was immediately prompted to ask myself the same question.
The answer came easily. I was 17 years old and had got a job as a receptionist for a private security company. I think I earned about R$600 a month and the first thing I bought was a portable CD player in 6 installments - in Brazil it's very common to buy anything in installments.
In Brazil, this device was called Discman, and considering that you needed to carry the device itself, the headset, the batteries and, of course, the CDs, today it might not have earned the adjective “portable”, but I carried it everywhere, being very careful not to damage the lens.
Do you remember that every CD player had a lens? It was an internal, bulging glass piece that read the CD and you had to be careful not to scratch or break it. If that happened, the player was gone.
At the time, I was studying at a private university without being able to afford it. I enrolled in with just my courage and went after a job that would help me get my degree - which didn't happen, because my salary was much lower than the tuition and in the end I managed to go to one of the best public universities of the country (all my love for you, UFF!).
I found it curious that, even with financial responsibilities, the moment I had the first money of my own, I bought an object that allowed me to take music with me.
The reasons for this purchase could have been different: to show off the device around, to pass the time on trips or long journeys, to show new music to other people, but in my case, my relationship with music was already very deep. So deep that 9 years later I had it tattooed on me, even though I was terrified of needles, but that's for another time.
Some life decisions can be very symbolic. And they can say a lot about us, but we end up not paying enough attention.
Have you ever seriously thought on winning the lottery? I know it seems pointless, but I find it such a powerful exercise. What would you really do if you had a lot of money? What would be your first decision? What would you keep in your life? Who would you tell? How would you tell them? Would you help someone?
Here you can find good insights of what you value in life. Some people would go traveling immediately. There are those who would buy several properties. There are those who would keep to themselves and not tell anyone.
Another powerful question that I always use and recommend is about frustration. Every time I'm faced with a dilemma, I ask myself: in 'x' amount of time, what will frustrate me the most about not having chosen? The answer isn't always exact, but it makes you see the problem from another point of view.
It's like singing "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" and not liking the result.
You end up finding your answer.
At the 2014 men's soccer World Cup in Brazil, I signed up to buy tickets (they do a lottery to choose who will be allowed to buy, as there are so many people willing to buy), for R$660 (almost U$130), I got four tickets to the final at the Maracanã Stadium. I just couldn't believe I'd got it, especially as it was the only game I'd signed up for.
And what happens when you have tickets for such a coveted event? A flood of offers to buy. R$3,000, R$4,000, R$5,000... for a ticket I paid R$165. I decided to sold two tickets for R$7,000 each. I don't think I'll ever make another "investment" with such a return.
But there were still two tickets left, mine and my boyfriend's. And as the World Cup went on, more bids were made.
For those who don't know, I LOVE the soccer World Cup. I suffer at every game. I juggled a thousand things to watch the Brazilian's matches of the women's World Cup this year, here in Denmark (thanks, Casimiro, for the YouTube broadcast) and, during my teenage years, I was a regular at games in Maracanã Stadium - I was born and lived in Rio de Janeiro until I was 23.
Have you ever thought about the possibility of watching Brazil in a men's World Cup final at Maracanã, one of the most important stadiums in the world?! Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine, but the bids for my remaining tickets were already at R$10,000 each.
And then came the shameful 7-1 defeat to Germany and Brazil were eliminated 😭
The deep sadness that hit me didn't reach the hearts of the buyers, because the bids for my tickets kept rising. As well as Brazil being out of the World Cup, the same person who bought the first two tickets offered R$28,000 for the other two.
I know what you're thinking: "this isn't even a dilemma anymore, it's just a very easy choice!"
As I wrote above, some choices can be symbolic. For some, the decision was easy, but for me, it was far from it. So I asked myself: in a year's time, what will frustrate me more, having missed the chance to go to the World Cup final in Maracanã or the chance to earn the easiest R$28,000 in life?
That happened 9 years ago, and there is not ONE SINGLE DAY that I have regretted watching that tense match between Argentina and Germany. I was right behind the goal when Germany scored in extra time and took the cup home. And I even took my boyfriend, who is now my husband, to his first stadium experience - he doesn't care about soccer, let alone the World Cup, but we had a priceless memory together.
What about you?
- What did you do with your first salary?
- What were your symbolic decisions?
- What would you do if you won R$78 million in the lottery?
When we discover what we really value, it becomes much easier to show who we are to the world.
See you! 🌻
Remember: English is not my native language! This is a translated version of Liliando in Portuguese. If you see any major mistake, please be kind and just let me know!