The Hilbert College Women's Basketball team is, in my opinion, a solid group; they are much better than their current 2-4 record, and will continue to improve as the season rolls on. But I wonder if this team knows how good they are, and if they believe in how much better they can be? As I ponder this remarkable group of young women, I must ask them, 'What is your philosophy on winning and losing?'
Playing any game at a superior level -- whether on the field of business, athletics or politics -- involves the mind much more than the body. That may seem obvious in politics and business, but not so intuitive in sports. Exhibit A is the NBA. How is it that the best basketball players in the country could wind up on one team and win an NBA championship, and yet another set of amazing athletes on a different NBA team end up demoralized and in last place? Not every team has a Kobe Bryant, and Kobe Bryant doesn't always win. Or take a look at Exhibit B: this season's Buffalo Bills. Why are they so bad and other NFL teams so good? Not everyone has a Tom Brady, and yet other teams win. Is it better coaching? Better stadium? Better facilities? Better fans?
Remember the NY Giants last year? They had a horrible start to their season... very similar to this year's Bills. But they tiptoed into the playoffs as a wild card team, and rolled to a Super Bowl win. Did they suddenly get better players? Was the football manufactured better? Did they wear better uniforms? Maybe the weather was nicer. Or did something change in their minds that made them winners?
Winning is not just about winning. It isn't always about getting more points than the other team. Winning is learning how to show up every time. It's about the realization that if you lose with a great effort then you've lost to a better team on that day. It's recognizing that a momentary lapse in excellence will not be acceptable to your boss in a few years and may cost you a raise or promotion. It's understanding you may not always win the contest, but you left everything on the table in that conference room, exhausted. It's rehearsing that speech until you know it backwards and you're losing your voice. It's reviewing a document three times and then three more times to be sure it's perfect. And then it's realizing, even with all that, you may not get the contract and you may not win the election, but you can walk away and hold your head high. Although getting more points than the other team is always much more fun, losing a game knowing you gave it your all feels better than losing because you didn't show up. And it's all determined by how you think.
When one looks over the competition in most leagues, for the most part the difference between the best team and the worst is actually not that different, unless a team thinks so. A man named Earl Nightingale once said, 'You are what you think about' and made that famous in his book and record album 'The Strangest Secret'. He asserts what you think about will determine an outcome. If you think you can make the shot you have a high chance of doing so; if you think you'll miss it, you most likely will. However you think, you'll be right. Showing up is a habit and takes practice. It is the road less traveled, but will determine a winner more times than just talent.
So, what is your philosophy? Will you leave it all on the floor the next time you practice? The next time you play? What should you believe in? Believe you can make 75% of your foul shots. And then believe you can make 80%. Believe in that crisp pass to the low post, and then believe in your shot at the elbow. Believe in your coaches and believe in your teammates. And always remember, believe in all those people who love and support you, because they believe in you every step of the way.
Good luck against Franciscan. Believe in yourselves... and dare greatly; I believe you'll do just fine.
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"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
Playing any game at a superior level -- whether on the field of business, athletics or politics -- involves the mind much more than the body. That may seem obvious in politics and business, but not so intuitive in sports. Exhibit A is the NBA. How is it that the best basketball players in the country could wind up on one team and win an NBA championship, and yet another set of amazing athletes on a different NBA team end up demoralized and in last place? Not every team has a Kobe Bryant, and Kobe Bryant doesn't always win. Or take a look at Exhibit B: this season's Buffalo Bills. Why are they so bad and other NFL teams so good? Not everyone has a Tom Brady, and yet other teams win. Is it better coaching? Better stadium? Better facilities? Better fans?
Remember the NY Giants last year? They had a horrible start to their season... very similar to this year's Bills. But they tiptoed into the playoffs as a wild card team, and rolled to a Super Bowl win. Did they suddenly get better players? Was the football manufactured better? Did they wear better uniforms? Maybe the weather was nicer. Or did something change in their minds that made them winners?
Winning is not just about winning. It isn't always about getting more points than the other team. Winning is learning how to show up every time. It's about the realization that if you lose with a great effort then you've lost to a better team on that day. It's recognizing that a momentary lapse in excellence will not be acceptable to your boss in a few years and may cost you a raise or promotion. It's understanding you may not always win the contest, but you left everything on the table in that conference room, exhausted. It's rehearsing that speech until you know it backwards and you're losing your voice. It's reviewing a document three times and then three more times to be sure it's perfect. And then it's realizing, even with all that, you may not get the contract and you may not win the election, but you can walk away and hold your head high. Although getting more points than the other team is always much more fun, losing a game knowing you gave it your all feels better than losing because you didn't show up. And it's all determined by how you think.
When one looks over the competition in most leagues, for the most part the difference between the best team and the worst is actually not that different, unless a team thinks so. A man named Earl Nightingale once said, 'You are what you think about' and made that famous in his book and record album 'The Strangest Secret'. He asserts what you think about will determine an outcome. If you think you can make the shot you have a high chance of doing so; if you think you'll miss it, you most likely will. However you think, you'll be right. Showing up is a habit and takes practice. It is the road less traveled, but will determine a winner more times than just talent.
So, what is your philosophy? Will you leave it all on the floor the next time you practice? The next time you play? What should you believe in? Believe you can make 75% of your foul shots. And then believe you can make 80%. Believe in that crisp pass to the low post, and then believe in your shot at the elbow. Believe in your coaches and believe in your teammates. And always remember, believe in all those people who love and support you, because they believe in you every step of the way.
Good luck against Franciscan. Believe in yourselves... and dare greatly; I believe you'll do just fine.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
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