Maintain the Preseason Optimism Throughout Your Life

Our high school basketball season started last week. Our youngest son has been anxiously awaiting the first game of his sophomore season.  He isn’t nervous… just excited about the opportunity to once again compete alongside his friends in the sport he loves.  
 
It got me thinking about how incredible it is when you are young. The excitement of the newness of the season ahead, where there is no record yet, there are no trials or tribulations, everything is pure and open. It is all about what CAN BE and not what IS.
 
Prior to the season, my son spent a lot of time in preparation to be the best player and teammate he could be by focusing on:

• Skill development
• Practice
• Watching film
• Strength training and diet
• Watching college games & practices to learn

 
I then was thinking about why it is so hard to recapture those feelings as an adult when you are in the workforce. But then I realized, those feelings still exist, we just don’t recognize them in the same manner. 
 
As an adult, you prepare for a project or your job in a similar manner.

• You attend training on hard and soft skills
• You build habits
• You do “film study” when you perform Lessons Learned
• You participate in company fitness & wellness programs to take care of yourself
• You utilize mentors and coaches to grow

 
It doesn’t matter if you are at work preparing for a big meeting or hitting a deadline, or you are a high school kid preparing for the first game of the season, you can experience a gambit of emotions:

• Anxious
• Excitement
• Fear
• Enthusiasm
• Uncertainty

 
Everything is before you, full of potential and unspoiled.

Next Play
What if we could keep that same attitude throughout the season? What if we actually could play, live, and/or work in the moment?
 
In sports, coaches continuously use phrases such as:

• “Next Play”
• “One game at a time”
• “Be Present”
• “Put it behind you”

 
But is it only a catch phrase? When things go south, coaches have a tendency to “react” instead of “respond” to the situation. That results in a negative attack versus a positive correct or adapt.
 
As a leader, what is your response at work? Do you show frustration? Do you become critical? So, you focus on what went wrong versus the “next play?”

Keep the Preseason Vibe
Let’s go back to our first game of the season. The first day of school. The first date. The first day at work. The story has yet to be written. 
 
What if we could maintain that outlook in the middle of the season? In the middle of the project? Not a review of what has gone wrong. Not the weight of a two-game losing streak. 
 
Soak in the incredible power of potential. The fresh outlook that everything is possible and still in front of us. That there is ALWAYS more to the story. That there is another chapter still to be written. 
 
Socrates said that “The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” When you talk with your team, is the focus on “What we need” or “What we did”?
 
Maintain the excitement of the preseason throughout your seasons of life. Adopt a mindset that you will Be Better Today, knowing that there is always another chapter to be written. Embrace that growth mindset, that sense of ownership, to carry that optimistic and enthusiastic mindset Beyond Today.

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