20/10/2026
‘Where have you shrunk back because you didn’t think you looked the part? And who around you could do with a fair shot?’
On my first night at Scouts, I took one look around the room and was sure I didn’t belong.
Everywhere I looked there were big, confident boys in neatly pressed shirts, covered in badges and awards. And then there was me. A tiny, skinny sq**rt who somehow felt even smaller than he looked.
Every part of me wanted to shrink into the corner. These lads clearly had it all figured out, and I clearly didn’t.
Then the scoutmaster set the whole troop a challenge. Cook a sausage using a single match.
Every one of us got the same match. The badges didn’t help anyone, and neither did the pressed shirts. It came down to who was willing to get stuck in and have a go. I loved it. Something in me came alive that night, and I was hooked.
I only understood this years later. What I lacked in size and confidence, I slowly made up for with guts and a refusal to quit. And in the end that mattered far more than looking the part on day one.
Life puts us in rooms like that all the time. A new job, or a group of people who all seem to know exactly what they’re doing. We size everyone up, decide we’re the smallest one there, and start shrinking before anything has even begun.
Most of those people are just as unsure as we are. Some of them have just learned to hide it better.
It’s worth remembering when we’re the ones setting the challenge too, whether that’s running a team or organising a weekend away with mates. Give everyone the same shot, and don’t decide in advance who’s going to shine. The quiet one in the corner might surprise you all.
Where have you shrunk back because you didn’t think you looked the part? And who around you could do with a fair shot?
