Every season we write a new narrative. Sometimes we lack joy. Bret Ledbetter shares a brief story of joyless success. The panel discusses championship reality.
Don't let expectations diminish your joy. Don't let others define us. Define yourself through character, process, and sharing. How can we do that?
Everyone experiences disappointment. But we choose our response. Don't let the absence of winning define us as losers. Focus on doing our best not being the best.
Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee remarked, “For me the joy of athletics has never resided in winning… I derive as much happiness from the process as from the results. I don’t mind losing as long as I see improvement or I feel I’ve done as well as I possible could. If I lose, I just go back to the track and work some more.”
Distill the graphic (above) from What Drives Winning into two questions, "who are we" and "how do we play?" In 10-Minute Toughness, Jason Selk argues for having an "identity statement" and a "performance statement." Here is an excellent summary of Selk's book.
When we excel at these skills, we can embrace the results at the top. Examined another way, if we lack character skills, should we deserve joy in positive results? If we know someone who is lazy, dishonest, disrespectful, negative, and selfish, would we want that for ourselves?
Even when clouds arise, so can joy.
Play joyfully. Coach joyfully. Expecting majestic displays from twelve year-olds is an act of faith. But I'm waiting patiently, imagining great brushstrokes on an ethereal canvas.
Lagniappe: BOB Stack plays
Another screen the middle play.
Stagger.