First, I don't have a dog. So, in the tradition of economics, I'll assume a dog. What would "Roscoe" say about me?
1. "He's not always realistic." Ninety percent of physicians say that they're in the top ten percent of doctors. Half of us graduated in the bottom fifty percent of our class. Eighty percent of people say they're better than average drivers. The other twenty percent? They have a higher incidence of depression. Accepting reality involves some pain. Medicine, investing, and coaching all dispense regular doses of humility and loss.
If we're so smart, then "why don't we win all the time?" Marshall Goldsmith writes in What Got You Here Won't Get You There, "why should a smart guy like me listen to a loser like you?" Our anger, denial, and attack don't help our dog in the fight. "Are you going to give up and give in or get up and get in?"
"He didn't like puppy training or other 'paperwork'." Word.
2. "He doesn't like confrontation." There's "the other side of the trade." Five percent of the "community" creates more than half the problems. There's a time to stand your ground, but "don't poke the bear." Suffer the fool or be one?
3. "He believes in habit, in process." Roscoe gets let out on time, fed on time (Fantasy Freshpet), walked regularly, gets treats, his bath (whether he needs it or not), goes to the vet, and gets playtime and stroked. My imaginary dog gets better treatment than the next guy's imaginary dog.
Maybe he's not the best imaginary dog, but he's my best pretend pooch.
We can always do more to train our dog and ourselves.
4. "He's a slave to improvement. He has to be." Chaser (above) knows over a thousand words. "The differences between who we are now and who we become in five years are the people we meet and the books we read." Books stimulate us to seek solutions.
We can't control our size. Neither can players. But when we "control what we can control" we can improve process (athleticism) and competence (skill). Naturally, competence encompasses our communication, knowledge, and teaching, but also includes our discipline, inspiration, motivation, and other intangibles.
5. "Having a dog isn't always fun." When Roscoe throws up on the rug, needs the vet, ages and slows down, or God forbid, bites someone, I wonder why I have a dog. Nobody enjoys "picking up the poop."
I have ownership for those "turnovers", forced shots, missed shots, missed assignments, bad passes, and other assaults upon my basketball sense. They come with the territory.
If we want to play the game, then we have to tolerate if not embrace, the "poop".
What does your dog say about you?
