My Sunday Night Football Approach
Football season is upon us. That incredible time of year when the Pigskin rules many an American household is back and I for one am looking forward to it. This is probably where those of you who don't care much for football are thinking of cutting out. Yet, if you'll indulge me for just a few more moments, maybe you'll find some value in this post; or at least not feel like you wasted your time on the Bench.
Football is of course a truly American sport. Much like Baseball, Basketball or Hockey, it harkens many of us to special memories we shared with loved ones in years gone by. It also serves as a metaphor for life. To quote Al Pacino in the movie Any Given Sunday, "Football is a game of inches." He goes on to motivate his players to win the game, one inch at a time.
Life throws us some incredibly difficult Spirals and at times it's hard to see how we're going to get through our current difficulties facing a Wildcat Formation. The light at the end of the tunnel can seem quite dim. Sometimes the End Zone seems 100 yards away. When times are overwhelming or seemingly impossible, the football analogy of winning the game an inch at a time comes to mind.
I've learned through my own personal trials the only way I can deal with a significant situation is to hit it with the Sunday Night Football approach. First I accept it for what it is. Sometimes you are blitzed with a full-on Rush. That's life. Second, I try my best to place the issue in perspective. Is it a work issue that is blurring into my personal life? Does it really deserve the weight I'm placing on it? Or is it just a Special Teams decoy in the Secondary? Third, I take responsibility for it. I don't wait for someone else to fix it. I head straight for the Line of Scrimmage, look that Defensive Tackle in the eye and dare him to get past my Center. Fourth, I create a plan to navigate the issue, step by step if possible. I set my issues up in a Shotgun formation, set my Running Back close, and nod at my Wide Receivers to go deep for the Hail Mary. I'd rather take some action than no action. Sure, I might end up with an Incompletion or worse an Interception, but the only way to get that Point After Touchdown is to work it down the field. Life may have to be played within the Hashmarks of our existence, but we determine how we get to the End Zone for that Touchdown.
Life is indeed a game of inches. Sure sometimes we'll get a 5-yard penalty. Sometimes we may even have to go back 15-yards for Roughing the Passer. But the Passer needs to know we're coming; cause we're taking championship ring, kissing the Lombardi trophy, and going to Disney World when it's all said and done.
Football is of course a truly American sport. Much like Baseball, Basketball or Hockey, it harkens many of us to special memories we shared with loved ones in years gone by. It also serves as a metaphor for life. To quote Al Pacino in the movie Any Given Sunday, "Football is a game of inches." He goes on to motivate his players to win the game, one inch at a time.
Life throws us some incredibly difficult Spirals and at times it's hard to see how we're going to get through our current difficulties facing a Wildcat Formation. The light at the end of the tunnel can seem quite dim. Sometimes the End Zone seems 100 yards away. When times are overwhelming or seemingly impossible, the football analogy of winning the game an inch at a time comes to mind.
I've learned through my own personal trials the only way I can deal with a significant situation is to hit it with the Sunday Night Football approach. First I accept it for what it is. Sometimes you are blitzed with a full-on Rush. That's life. Second, I try my best to place the issue in perspective. Is it a work issue that is blurring into my personal life? Does it really deserve the weight I'm placing on it? Or is it just a Special Teams decoy in the Secondary? Third, I take responsibility for it. I don't wait for someone else to fix it. I head straight for the Line of Scrimmage, look that Defensive Tackle in the eye and dare him to get past my Center. Fourth, I create a plan to navigate the issue, step by step if possible. I set my issues up in a Shotgun formation, set my Running Back close, and nod at my Wide Receivers to go deep for the Hail Mary. I'd rather take some action than no action. Sure, I might end up with an Incompletion or worse an Interception, but the only way to get that Point After Touchdown is to work it down the field. Life may have to be played within the Hashmarks of our existence, but we determine how we get to the End Zone for that Touchdown.
Life is indeed a game of inches. Sure sometimes we'll get a 5-yard penalty. Sometimes we may even have to go back 15-yards for Roughing the Passer. But the Passer needs to know we're coming; cause we're taking championship ring, kissing the Lombardi trophy, and going to Disney World when it's all said and done.
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