Just pretend…

I know we missed NCAA Division I March Madness for the first time since… well… madness in March was created by NCAA men’s basketball.  Like all other sports; professional, college, high school, even the Olympics; we are missing opportunities to see greatness on the fields of play.

Don’t you wish the President came on television today and said, “April Fools!  I suspect that will not happen.  So, where do we find the strength to deal with our current events?  Where do we find avenues for relief?  Where can we watch greatness being achieved - in sports or otherwise? 

Do you know people who have achieved greatness and didn’t believe they were capable of being great?  I’m not talking about super stars’ “public” image (ranging from quiet confidence to over-the-top arrogance).  I’m talking about how people think of themselves deep down inside.

Our health care workers are achieving greatness, yes?  Is that how they think of themselves?  Or our teachers – many of them learning for themselves how to lead “distance teaching” for the first time.  Or you and me and every other ordinary person; sheltering in place while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy.

Don’t worry about self-doubts; second-thoughts; fear.  If we don’t think of ourselves as being great, we can still apply lessons learned from basketball.

Take the Chicago Bulls for instance.  I’m from Chicago; a Phil Jackson fan; and was there when the Bulls won multiple NBA titles.  I was also living in Chicago during the days before Michael Jordan and before those great championship teams:

Former NBA center and coach Johnny Kerr said his biggest test as a coach came when he coached the then-expansion team the Chicago Bulls and his biggest player was 6'8" Erwin Mueller.

We had lost seven in a row and I decided to give a psychological pep talk before a game with the Celtics, Kerr said.  I told Bob Boozer to go out and pretend he was the best scorer in basketball.  I told Jerry Sloan to pretend he was the best defensive guard.  I told Guy Rodgers to pretend he could run an offense better than any other guard, and I told Erwin Mueller to pretend he was the best rebounding, shot-blocking, scoring center in the game.  We lost the game by 17.

 

I was pacing around the locker room afterward trying to figure out what to say when Mueller walked up, put his arm around me, and said, “Don't worry about it Coach.  Just pretend we won." 

         James S. Hewett

    

Inspiring.  If we don’t think of ourselves as great enough to conquer today’s daily challenges, we can always just pretend, true?  I think it comes down to thinking we can:

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

          If you like to win, but you think you can’t,

              It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow’s will –

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You’ve got to think high to rise,

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or later that man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

                                  Unknown Sage

I think we can – and I’m not pretending!

                              GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.