More Sports Wisdom

The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching. ~Anson Dorrance

One of my professors this week gave us an extra credit assignment dealing with Sports Heroes. For someone who doesn't know much about sports, I was surprised to find so many people to look up to and admire in the sports community. 

I discovered many who were inspirational, not just for amazing athletic abilities but for qualities that transcend sports, such as the courage to make a difference in the world around them. 

                                         Below is the assignment I was given.

List 5 persons You Consider Sports Heroes 

Besides just being great players/coaches they were brave, courageous and overcame 'greater than average' obstacles and sacrificed for the greater good.

 Pat Tillman  ~ Football

After the 911 attack, he sacrificed his football career to serve his country. Turned down a $3.6 million contract to serve. He died while serving on a tour in Afghanistan.

"It doesn't do me any good to be proud. It's better to just force myself to be naive about things, because otherwise I'll start being happy with myself, and then I'll stand still, and then I'm old news." ~Pat Tillman

 Jackie Robinson  ~ Baseball

Overcame racial discrimination, helped pave the way for others. He broke down walls of segregation that locked black Americans out of professional sports.

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"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." ~Jackie Robinson 

 John Wooden  ~  Basketball (player and coach)

Considered one of the best coaches to ever live. Man of wisdom and extremely devoted to his faith, wife, and country. He didn’t just play well but went on to ‘teach’ others to be successful…not just with basketball but with life. He promoted education not just sports.

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Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. ~John Wooden

"I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior."        ~John Wooden

 Tom Landry   ~  Football (player and coach)

One of America’s most beloved coaches. Man of integrity and devoted to his faith and family. Even after being unfairly fired he reacted with integrity.

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"Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." ~Tom Landry

 Wilma Rudolph  ~   Running

She overcame obstacles of gender, race, poverty and physical handicap to become the first American woman to win three gold medals in the Olympics. This achievement led her to become one of the most celebrated female athletes of all time. In addition, her celebrity caused gender barriers to be broken in previously all-male track and field events.

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“My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother. “ ~Wilma Rudolph

This can be any of us!

And here's one more video of an athlete that has inspired me not to give up. It's not always about winning, but whether or not we finish the race.

"How long should you try? Until."   ~Jim Rohn

Sports Wisdom

Recently an author and sports writer from the New York Times visited the University where I attend. Normally I’m too busy to attend an out-of-class presentation, especially by someone I know little about and especially a sports writer (Sports? I leave that to my dad and husband!). But curiosity, and of course a little extra credit, led me to go.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Sports hater…in fact there are seasons where I find myself watching just as fanatically as my husband (which for me includes KU Basketball, the Olympics and an occasional football game). On the most part, I only understand a few sports and even then I seem to just 'get' the basics (mainly because, according to my beloved husband, I haven’t taken the time to try).  

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." -Bill Shankly

Bill would probably be disappointed that I'm not as passionate as he about football, but I must say that after this week I do have more appreciation for it. I can see how it may hold special importance in the lives of many.

(Image contributed from http://nezta.com/sport-quotes-for-your-life/)

OK, I said all that to say this, I never expected to find such ‘life’ wisdom from a Sports Writer.  Before the presentation that day, I hadn’t read Joe Drape’s featured book, Our Boys; but within minutes of hearing him speak, I wished I had! His words transcended the ‘game’ of sports and had me thinking much more deeply than expected. How could football become philosophy? Somehow it had, and I left with more appreciation for my community and values; as well as a stronger desire to follow my dreams.

Here are just a few of the tidbits of ‘wisdom’ and quotes that I liked from Joe Drape's afternoon session at Washburn:

1) Do something because it interests you, otherwise it’s work.

2) In a good community, all are invested in helping all do well.

3) Among the best programs are those, which ‘set the same standards for all.'

4) Journalism should “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable”

5) Whatever ideas you think, ‘somewhere it’s written down…you just have to find it.’

And one of my favorites:

“There is always someone smarter than you.”  

(a common theme...he who is wise realizes that he always has more to learn!)

Although I still don’t plan on watching a full football game anytime soon with my husband, (even though he keeps reminding me to 'listen to him' because HE is one of those 'smarter than YOUs' in my life), he IS quite proud of me for buying my first book about sports today. (Well, Our Boys of course!) So far what I’ve read has taught me a little more about the game of ‘football’ and a whole lot more about the game of ‘life.’

Remember whether or not you like a certain subject matters little as to whether or not it is possible to learn from it.  There is always some ‘idea’ within every subject that can bring wisdom applicable to your life…’you just have to find it.”

More Sports Wisdom:

The values learned on the playing field--how to set goals, endure, take criticism and risks, become team players, use our bodies, stay healthy and deal with stress--prepare us for life.  ~Donna de Varona 

Good Worth Fighting For

We've all been there, that dreadful place where we must decide to fight or give up. I don't know your battles, only mine, but believe me there have been a few that have led me to near insanity or a wished death. Thankfully I had someone, or someone(s) who pushed me to 'rage against the dying of the light.'

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

These are just a few of the words from a poem Dylan Thomas wrote when his father was dying. It was no doubt difficult for him to watch his 'hero', his father; who had always been such a fierce, strong man, surrender so easily to weakness, blindness, old age, and imminent death. How could a man who had once been such a courageous soldier in the army surrender so gently? The son pleads with his father that despite the hopelessness, one must fight for the 'light' until the end.

The following scene from the Lord of the Rings is about 'raging' against the dying of a different 'light" (metaphor for 'good.') Here too, a loved one, speaks wise words to encourage the 'battle worn' not to give up.

If you are going through hell, keep going. - Winston Churchill

Deer Stupid

The older I get the more I realize how little I know. Yet somehow I know that I now know more than I knew back then, when I thought I knew more than I know now.  Knowing that you don’t know is actually a 'knowing sign' that you may know more than most, who really don’t know as much as they think they know.

Confused yet? If not, good, but if so even better. 

For it is often through confusion that we best discover and remember truths IF we refuse to give in to its discomfort and diligently seek its remedy.  Diligently seeking answers gives our brain a great workout as well as imprinting a stronger memory of the lesson learned.

Some consider ‘confusion’ as a sign of intellectual weakness. And most of us have felt ‘stupid’ during moments of confusion. But confusion does not necessarily equate stupidity. Whether it be friend or foe depends on how one deals with it.

“Confusion is the first step to awareness. Confusion is the brain asking, “What does this mean?” It sets the brain in motion to connect the unknown with a known. The moment you reach a state of confusion, you should celebrate! Why? Because you are about to learn something.” ~Scott Ross
 

I agree that confusion can be destructive. And obviously someone who is continuously experiencing mental confusion may need to seek professional help. But on the most part experience has shown us that confusion can lead to either chaos or creativity depending on the mind involved.

When confusion finds a curious mind, wisdom can arrive. But for the one possessed with fear or doubt, confusion will make blind ~JDL

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Have you ever seen that ‘deer in the headlight’ look? I’ve heard numerous stories of automobile-deer accidents. As the car approaches the deer is stunned and confused at the same time, leading to loss of rationality. Most deer end up making the fatal mistake of freezing or running into the car instead of away from it.

Many react just like the deer. When things in life are headed their way they often allow the confusion to paralyze them or they tend to crash into the problem instead of solving it. I know I have too many times found myself 'deer stupid.' Thankfully, I lived and then learned to make better choices.

Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.” ~Albert Schweitzer

I have heard well-meaning people say that ‘confusion is not of God’ and if you are confused you must be flawed in some way. They unintentionally misquote “God is not the author of confusion but of peace.’ (I Corinthians 14:33) For if one studies the context of this verse, they will find that the author was not referring to typical human confusion but was writing about his disgust with the disorderly conduct and lack of unity of the church who in the name of "God" was creating 'chaos' and 'tumult' to outsiders. 

God realizes that as humans we will have moments of confusion and uncertainty but he doesn’t label us ‘stupid’ because of it, instead he uses these moments to teach us to grow if we but trust him in the process. He is the author of 'peace' and wants the end result of our confusion to be just that. 

So whether you are confused about that math problem, which career path to take, relationships, or how to build that skyscraper or high tech software, don’t allow confusion to paralyze you. Don't be Deer Stupid! Instead, use confusion as a tool to create and also to recognize that it may just be a sign that you are more intelligent than you thought because you realize that you have a lot more to learn.

I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.” ~Socrates