Things that go Bump in the Night
Chasing Away our Monsters
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
- Nelson Mandela
Things that Go Bump in the Night
Chasing Influence: Transformational Coaching to Build Champions for Life
For as long as there have been people, there has always been something to fear. People have always been afraid of the dark, the unknown, the unseen, and the unknowable … things that go bump in the night. Humanity has always been afraid because there has always been something important we can lose. And, for as long as we have been afraid, we have had an imagination to feed these fears and anxieties. The result of this is monsters!
We are faced with a myriad of monsters in life and some causes of trouble can’t be prevented. Disease, natural disasters, fires, water shortages, famine, and, of course, death and taxes. In sports, we can’t control the officials, the other team, the playing conditions, the facilities, or the fans.
So, what can we do in the face of such limited control? The answer lies in our response. While we cannot dictate the outcomes of every situation, we possess the power to prepare the best we can for different situations and control what we can control. We CAN control our attitude, our effort, decision-making, and preparation. Sometimes we will spend an entire year preparing to be ready for a future event.
In life, we prepare for the unknown in many ways. We purchase insurance, build shelters, wear seat belts and life jackets, and go somewhere safe when bad weather nears. On our teams, we drill fundamentals, condition, establish our systems, and learn about our opponents, recognizing that these efforts equip us to face the challenges we face.
It’s not what we are going through, it’s what we are going to.* By focusing on what we can control—our mindset, our actions, our preparation—we fortify ourselves against the uncertainties of the future. This focus prepares us not just to weather the storms, but to emerge stronger on the other side, standing up to the monsters that once haunted us!
“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.”
- Charles R. Swindoll
Connecting this quote to the story. The quote emphasizes the significance of our response to challenges and uncertainties and the importance of focusing on what we can control and how we choose to navigate the challenges we face.
This week’s Chasing Influence tip: Goals wake you up in the night. Purpose gets you back to sleep.
If you enjoyed this story, a series of three Chasing Influence workbooks is available. Stories are accompanied by discussion questions and answers. Each workbook contains 33 lessons to use with any team.
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©Troy Urdahl, 2024
* Thank you, Dr. Gilbert!