I interpret for a student on the basketball team and there’s a phrase the coach says that I find encouraging and serves as a good reminder to me. If they miss a basket during practice, but get the rebound, the coach yells, “We’re still here! We’re still here!” Meaning they should keep playing and try to score again. He’s reminding them to keep going and not give up because the play is still live. If they stop prematurely, he gets irritated because he doesn’t want them to stop until they hear a whistle, just like in a game (building a good habit).
If someone misses a basket in practice, the coach says, “Finish it!” He expects the player that missed the basket, or another player to rebound the ball and keep trying to get it in the basket until they are successful. Players may miss the rebounding layup three or four times, but they can’t move on to the next play until they make the basket. It doesn’t matter that it’s practice and they just executing plays and learning their positions on the court. The coach expects them to keep vying for the ball until they make the basket (building another good habit).
During a game, if the other team’s defense is really tough and their play isn’t successful, but they still have possession, he says, “We’re alright,” and tells them to reset and run the play again. Sometimes players miss a shot, and you can see how disappointed they are in themselves, but the coach keeps encouraging them by saying, “That was a good look” or “The next one’s in!” As long as players are giving their best effort, making smart decisions, and working as a team, the coach doesn’t care if they don’t score. The point is, players on the team aren’t allowed to give up, no matter what happens (persistence). What a great life lesson!
I think this spirit of persisting and keeping a positive attitude is wonderful to remember when things in life get challenging. We can use our mastermind partner as a “coach” to help encourage us during times of difficulty. Ideally, at this point we are self-directed enough to coach ourselves using the 7 laws and all the other tools we’ve learned. All of us have made it this far in MKE and we should be proud because we haven’t given up! No matter where our paths go from here and what happens, remember that “we’re still here” and keep going! Let’s do this!
I love the team player aspect. There are so many life lessons to be learned when on a team. Thanks for this analogy.
“Let’s do this!” Thank you.
Thank you Brittany, for this post…your example is so fitting. And what i love is that you speak into persistence in a great way. It can get challenging with anything we are doing in life but in the practice, the habit of persistence we achieve, if we do not tire out. Thank you! xoxo
You are absolutely amazing mahalo for getting this done!
Yes, Brittany, a very appropriate post! The Sunday webinar just ended, and once again you’re first to publish your weekly blog! Thanks for finishing strong! 🙂