My football team lost yesterday...again. As my wife and kids can attest, I get into football. My daughter often reminds me that the players can’t hear me when I rant at the television.
Replaying the game in my mind, I made an interesting observation. My frustration with the game was not so much the broken coverages, the dropped passes, the lack of offense, etc. What really got me was the way the quarterback (and others) hung their head when things were not going well.
Now I know it is easy to play “armchair quarterback”, but even I know that when the head goes down, defeat is at the doorstep. Energy and hope ebb away. What the other players need is for the leaders to have their heads up, fighting until the end, not giving up.
As these thoughts rolled around in my head, another thought came to mind. Maybe why I was so frustrated with the “head down action”, is that I was seeing myself in the mirror. I don’t face blitzing linebackers or dropped passes. My challenges are unbalanced budgets, unmet expectations, tough decisions, sick kids, unexpected bills....the list goes on.
At those times, whether I am leading an organization, a family, or a company, my response to the pressure or near defeat, will impact those I lead. If the head goes down, so does the spirit of the team. If the head is up and focused on the challenges, the team just might believe there is a chance...hope returns.
Where’s your head today?
26 September 2011
05 February 2007
Blue Cold Monday
This captures the feeling this incredibly cold Monday morning. The Bears lost and its -11 in Chicago (only -1 or -2 in Peoria)
The warm bed seemed a better alternative...but life goes on. It will be hard to get excited about anything this morning.
03 February 2007
National Holiday
Tomorrow is one of our most popular "national holidays". Of course, I am talking about the Super Bowl. Anyone from outside the US may not understand how big this event is in our nation. Even if you are really not into football, most are still caught up in the parties, the food, the commercials, etc. It's a Big Deal.
And for those of us living in Chicagoland or the Indianapolis area, this event takes on greater importance. During the time I have been home these past couple of weeks, it has been fun experiencing the anticipation and the hype of the Bears playing this Sunday. Heather's class tied for the 6th grade Best Bears Door Decoration yesterday. She had to go back after school to retrieve her math workbook, so I got to see all the decorations. Incredible.
So, tomorrow is it. Though I will be in Peoria, I will definitely be wearing my Bears sweatshirt and cheering the Blue and Orange to victory! (Sorry, Bart...best of luck to the Colts, but not too much!). As a point of interest, there was a move on in Chicago to let workers come in an hour or two late on Monday...in anticipation of lots of partying on Sunday night. We'll see.
Go BEARS!!!
