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Carrs' Corner

Every year I start off our first practice by gathering my players around me and telling them a terrific and meaningful story.

I read them a little book called "The Precious Present" by a man named Spencer Johnson. It takes only about five minutes.

The story is about a little boy, an old man, and the wisdom that comes with age.

The little boy is in search of a present which will bring him happiness. The old man has told him that this present will bring him happiness forever. Over time the little boy seeks advice from the old man on how to get this present. As time passes by the little boy becomes a young man and becomes even more annoyed that he still did not receive his present.

The young man eventually grows into an old man before he realizes what "The Precious Present" is. It is not a material present but rather the present. Not the past and not the future but the present. It's not a toy but a gift. It's the ability to live in the present tense.

This is such an important lesson for all of us today. We are so concerned with what people say and with what people are thinking of us. We become obsessed with a loss or a failure and let it consume us. We become focused on yesterday and the mistakes of the past.

Well, yesterday's problems are just that...yesterday's. They are a done deal. There's nothing you can do about the day that's over except learn from your mistakes.

And if it isn't the past, we are stressed about the future. What's going to happen to our job? Is it even going to be there a year from now? What's going to happen if it's not?

We have all woken up in the middle of the night feeling anxious about what the future might bring. It's part of human nature. But this kind of worry never gets us anywhere, except making us sick and tired. We have to learn to minimize these times, not let them take over our psyche and shove out productive thoughts.

I want my players to live in the precious present. And I want to live there too. To both coach and live like every day is my last, not taking anything for granted. In our anxious society, this is a hard thing to do. But we can all look around us to see how anxious thoughts keep people from acting while life passes them by. We have to remember that this can happen to us too. We have to sit back at times and become totally immersed in the moment. You would be amazed how simply concentrating on a task, apart from worry or regret, can be a gratifying peaceful, positive experience.

 

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Coach's Corner: Teamwork
You have to win and lose as a team. That is the way we do it here. We are not into blaming anybody else for what happens. We take control of our own destiny and when things do not go our own way we will take what comes.

Lloyd Carr