Playing with Passion and Avoiding the Ill Effects of "It's Just..."
At last week's Owners Meeting, we discussed the topic of playing with passion and avoiding the ill effects of "it's just...."
As our guide and theme for the discussion, we considered a quote attributed to Ray Bradbury: "Love what you do and do what you love." We also considered similar quotes from Confucius ("Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life"), Warren Buffett ("Take a job that you love"), Maya Angelou ("pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off of you") and Steve Jobs ("The only way to do great work is to love what you do").
Our first discussion question was whether there is a difference between doing what you love and loving what you do. We agreed that doing what you love encompasses the idea of finding a way to get paid for doing what you love to do - something you are passionate about - as a career. The girls noted that loving what you do is different and means learning to find some aspect of a task, assignment or job that you enjoy and can focus on so that you can be more productive in performing the task, assignment or job you might not otherwise love.
We then discussed a story from a forbes.com article about Denise, the Safety and Environmental Affairs Manager at Subaru's manufacturing plant in Lafayette, Indiana. Denise was assigned the task of reducing 15 tons of landfill waste generated per day by the plant. Instead of feeling sorry for herself that she had been relegated to garbage duty, Denise thought about how Subaru owners would love knowing that their car was produced in a facility that didn't generate landfill waste and about how much pride her coworkers would feel if they succeeded in reducing that much waste. She began by literally diving into her work, going "dumpster diving" to analyze what kind of trash was being collected, hunting down where it came from, and learning why it was there. Over the next two years, she engaged dozens, then hundreds, then all 3,700 coworkers on the project, and was surprised at how her enthusiasm for the project really rubbed off on and inspired her coworkers. Eventually, she and her team found a way to eliminate, recycle or re-purpose every bit of waste in the plant, sending nothing to the landfill and even composting cafeteria waste to be provided to employees as a free benefit for their gardens. Denise brought passion to her project and inspired others in the process.
Next we discussed a story about a student who was giving a particularly passionate presentation in class when a fellow student laughed at her and her passion for the subject. We talked about how, even though that student was not interested in the subject of the presentation, she should have been anxious to learn about and get involved with something about which another student was so passionate.
Bringing it back to basketball, we talked about playing with passion. While it is an admirable trait to remain even-keeled at all times, we know that players experience a range of emotions during a game. Learning to control, focus and even channel these emotions can be a source of great energy on the court, particularly when players are leg-weary at the end of an intense game or week of games. An occasional display of emotion - so long as it is not disrespectful - is acceptable, if not expected, from players who are emotionally invested in their sport.
Lastly, we discussed the phrase "it's just" as in the age-old saying "it's just a game" (or similar phrases such as "it's just one test"). On the one hand, the intent behind the utterance of this phrase is often to provide perspective - to remind us that things like faith, family and friends are far more important than a particular athletic contest, test, assignment, and so forth. On the other hand, the phrase "it's just" is so often used as an excuse not to care or to put forth the required effort or to explain away a failure, a loss or a performance that falls short of expectations rather than going through the all important process of reviewing the performance and planning and preparing to make the necessary adjustments to improve. A coach who says "it's just middle school girls basketball" may be creating an excuse not to give his best as a coach, thereby betraying his commitment to his team to help them become the best basketball players and young people they can be. A student who says "it's just one test" may be creating an excuse not to put in the work studying and preparing for the test.
Instead, players should play with passion, and coaches should coach with passion. Being emotionally invested in a task or activity you have chosen or are obligated to spend so much time and effort completing or performing is a good thing, and embracing and channeling your emotions can provide a boost in energy and performance. Players, coaches, students and people, in general, should find a way to "love what you do" and avoid the ill effects of "it's just...."
Back
Our first discussion question was whether there is a difference between doing what you love and loving what you do. We agreed that doing what you love encompasses the idea of finding a way to get paid for doing what you love to do - something you are passionate about - as a career. The girls noted that loving what you do is different and means learning to find some aspect of a task, assignment or job that you enjoy and can focus on so that you can be more productive in performing the task, assignment or job you might not otherwise love.
We then discussed a story from a forbes.com article about Denise, the Safety and Environmental Affairs Manager at Subaru's manufacturing plant in Lafayette, Indiana. Denise was assigned the task of reducing 15 tons of landfill waste generated per day by the plant. Instead of feeling sorry for herself that she had been relegated to garbage duty, Denise thought about how Subaru owners would love knowing that their car was produced in a facility that didn't generate landfill waste and about how much pride her coworkers would feel if they succeeded in reducing that much waste. She began by literally diving into her work, going "dumpster diving" to analyze what kind of trash was being collected, hunting down where it came from, and learning why it was there. Over the next two years, she engaged dozens, then hundreds, then all 3,700 coworkers on the project, and was surprised at how her enthusiasm for the project really rubbed off on and inspired her coworkers. Eventually, she and her team found a way to eliminate, recycle or re-purpose every bit of waste in the plant, sending nothing to the landfill and even composting cafeteria waste to be provided to employees as a free benefit for their gardens. Denise brought passion to her project and inspired others in the process.
Next we discussed a story about a student who was giving a particularly passionate presentation in class when a fellow student laughed at her and her passion for the subject. We talked about how, even though that student was not interested in the subject of the presentation, she should have been anxious to learn about and get involved with something about which another student was so passionate.
Bringing it back to basketball, we talked about playing with passion. While it is an admirable trait to remain even-keeled at all times, we know that players experience a range of emotions during a game. Learning to control, focus and even channel these emotions can be a source of great energy on the court, particularly when players are leg-weary at the end of an intense game or week of games. An occasional display of emotion - so long as it is not disrespectful - is acceptable, if not expected, from players who are emotionally invested in their sport.
Lastly, we discussed the phrase "it's just" as in the age-old saying "it's just a game" (or similar phrases such as "it's just one test"). On the one hand, the intent behind the utterance of this phrase is often to provide perspective - to remind us that things like faith, family and friends are far more important than a particular athletic contest, test, assignment, and so forth. On the other hand, the phrase "it's just" is so often used as an excuse not to care or to put forth the required effort or to explain away a failure, a loss or a performance that falls short of expectations rather than going through the all important process of reviewing the performance and planning and preparing to make the necessary adjustments to improve. A coach who says "it's just middle school girls basketball" may be creating an excuse not to give his best as a coach, thereby betraying his commitment to his team to help them become the best basketball players and young people they can be. A student who says "it's just one test" may be creating an excuse not to put in the work studying and preparing for the test.
Instead, players should play with passion, and coaches should coach with passion. Being emotionally invested in a task or activity you have chosen or are obligated to spend so much time and effort completing or performing is a good thing, and embracing and channeling your emotions can provide a boost in energy and performance. Players, coaches, students and people, in general, should find a way to "love what you do" and avoid the ill effects of "it's just...."
Inspiring The Mind • Nurturing The Spirit