Monday Mindset
– an uncommon approach to school, sports, and life –

Today’s Monday Mindset: When You Feel Like You Suck

All right. Here’s your Monday Mindset for you.

I just got done playing with a bunch of university college guys who could flat out hoop. I’m 46 years old and running with these guys is tough, especially when you only play once or twice a month.

But I tell you, I was challenged tonight because I didn’t play well at all. And it’s so easy when you don’t play well to just focus on you. You know what I mean? When things aren’t going your way, whether it’s basketball or anything else you do, if something’s not going well, you just focus on you. You wallow in your own sorrows. And at least in basketball, when you haven’t played well, you want to let everybody know that you know you didn’t play well. So you tell everybody how much you sucked out there, so that they know you didn’t think that that was how you would normally play. I don’t know what it is, but I think everybody does that.

I challenged myself tonight, because I’ve definitely done that the last few times I’ve played with these guys. But I decided to try and focus on something that I had read in the book, The Outward Mindset, which talks about focusing on the challenges, needs, and desires of others instead of yourself.

So rather than just tell everybody about how badly I played and that I’m actually much better than that, I decided to just encourage the other guys with what I saw them do well. I just found one or two of the guys and just encouraged them. And it actually brightened my spirits and hopefully it did with theirs as well.

Here’s my simple challenge to you on this Monday Mindset – focus on the challenges, needs, and desires of others. It’ll lift the spirits of those around you. It’ll lift your spirits too.