Controlling The Controllable’s

There are many things in this world that are out of our control. One of the greatest tests we face is how we cope with the stress that follows an uncontrollable experience. This challenge becomes even greater when we truly care about the outcome.

I see this all the time in athletics—through my personal experiences, former teammates, and the athletes I coach today. Athletics is a great example because, while you can control your attitude, effort, and behavior, you cannot control the other players or the overall outcome of the game. We only have control over our own perspective and actions. If understood while competing, this realization can serve as an opportunity to practice valuable coping skills.

Growing up, the sports teams I was part of often struggled to win games. I always played as hard as I could and had a lot of fun doing it, but we could never seem to secure a victory. After every game, we would get extremely upset. Through reflection, we could always find ways we could have played better. The truth is, every single person on the team could have improved in some way.

The real question is: who is willing to acknowledge what they can do better to help the team's success? The outcome is never fully on one individual, but the inaction of reflection and repetition is. The attitude you bring to practice each day is within your control. Your behavior through adversity is what ultimately matters.