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I read an article by Drs. Srini Pillay and David R. McDuff in the Nov./Dec. 2018 issue of Coach and AD, where they discussed how student-athletes can sharpen their minds by actually intentionally “un-focusing.” I really enjoyed this article and I am going to try to instill some of their tips and reminders into my own life. After all, who couldn’t stand to sharpen their mind a bit? So, I’ll share with you! The authors point out that no matter how hard we try to concentrate on tasks, our minds do wander. I know mine does and in the past, I have...
In an interview she did for Parade Magazine (Oct. 14, 2018), Jamie Lee Curtis said, “Every good thing that ever happened to me was because I was in horror films.” My take from that is that good things happen to you, but sometimes only after you work hard for them and even do things that might frighten you or that you are afraid to do. Stepping out of our comfort zone can be scary and challenging but that’s how we grow. We shouldn’t be afraid to fail, rather we should be afraid not to try. (I don’t like scary movies at all by the way.) As...
Recently, I was told a story about an anthropologist who went to Africa to study the social behavior of tribes. One day, he proposed a game to some of the tribal children. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the kids to stand many yards away. Then he told them that upon his signal the kids could race to the tree and whoever got to the basket first would win all the contents of the basket. He signaled for them to go but instead of racing against each other they all grabbed hands and ran together, reaching the basket at the same...
Tis the season for a lot of road construction. I was traveling for business not long ago and I couldn’t help but notice the many, many roads signs as I drove. I started thinking about signs we are “given” or that we give out in our every day lives. Let’s start with signs like “slow down,” and “stay in your lane.” I think these signs are good signs for life as well and not just for the roadways. As we travel through life, these signs remind us how to safely progress. Sometimes we should indeed slow down, and take stock in what’s going on...
I usually run home from work every day, rain or shine. I started this practice over a year ago when we decided not to put any more money into the old car I was driving to and from work in. Sometimes I run to AND from work, but usually just home in the evenings after work. We had a mild enough winter in Rock Springs, so I did run in snow and cold but it really wasn’t that bad. It’s only 25 minutes home because even though I am not super speedy, it’s not quite 2.5 miles. To distract me from the hills I must run up, I look at my surro...
Someone recently shared a story with me about a custodial worker. In the story, a college professor gave a pop quiz to his students and the last question on the quiz asked, “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” One of the students reported that she remembered the cleaning lady clearly. She knew she was in her 50s, with dark hair and that she was tall, but she didn’t know her name. She asked the instructor if the last question really counted for points on the quiz. The professor told her that it most definitely would count...
I read an article in the February 2018 edition of “Coach & A.D.” titled “What Makes Good Coaches Great?” The author, Kevin Hoffman, listed five attributes of great coaches. After reading the article, I found myself thinking that these traits are not good just for coaches and for me as an educator and administrator, but for me as a parent as well. The author started by mentioning “passion.” He said, that with coaching, a coach can have all the sport knowledge in the world, but if they aren’t sincere about coaching and teaching young people,...
I love the quote by Lisa M. Hayes, ‘Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.’ Self-talk is so important because what you tell yourself every day will either lift you up or tear you down. Many times we are harder on ourselves than anyone else could ever be. And sometimes, we may be the only one we can depend on in that moment, so we can’t give up on ourselves too. I try to remember that in every situation I find myself in, self-talk will help me get halfway there - one way or the other. Negative self-talk gets me ha...
I couldn’t sleep the other night so I got up and watched some late night TV. As I was flipping through the channels, I actually came across a gentleman talking about time management. I can’t recall his name right now nor the channel the show was on or even the title of the program, but I do recall one key point this gentleman brought up. He said time waits for no one, nor their problems. He followed that comment up with a rhetorical question. He said, “Why is there never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over?...
I recently read an article in the April 2017 “Recreation Management” magazine, titled “The Power of Dissent,” written by Emily Tipping, the magazine’s editorial director. I really enjoyed this article for several reasons. Tipping spoke of having Monday morning meetings at work to brainstorm new ideas for the week, to get plans rolling and to conduct follow-up sessions for projects that had been completed the following week. This all sounds typical to processes here at my workplace as well, so I was anxious to figure out what she meant by...
I have eight people in my household, so of course I was doing laundry the other day. Most of the time it feels like I do laundry every day. Don’t ask me why, but the other day I actually took a look at the control panel on the washer for a minute. I think I was just standing there, kind of zoning out nonetheless, I looked at the control panel, and saw several words that got me thinking. As weird as this sounds, I realized in that moment, that my machine’s control panel is very similar to my own life control panel. Let me explain. The first con...
I recently watched an old video clip on YouTube, from the TV show “Candid Camera.” In case you are not familiar with “Candid Camera,” it aired from 1960 to 1976, and secretly videotaped people in situations where they were (safely) pranked or involved in a funny situation, set up to get their reactions. This particular episode showed an elevator prank. Three members of the “Candid Camera” staff would enter an elevator after an unsuspecting “victim” had already entered. The staff members did not speak when entering but instead, they all just tur...
It’s not uncommon nowadays to see a group of people sitting together while they are all texting or checking social media on their phones. They are “with” each other in proximity but they are not actually engaged “for” each other. I think it’s important in today’s super busy world that we all make conscious efforts to spend time “for” each other – talking, listening, sharing, laughing, being together – not just being around each other in the same vicinity. Jeff Van Gundy is a former NBA and college basketball coach, who is currently working for...
I recently read an article in “Fostering Families Today,” July/August 2017, titled “Partnering with Youth Through Transitions to Adulthood” by Shatiea Blount. I really enjoyed this article and I want to share it with you. I have several children. They are of varying ages. Two are over 18 already, one is a teenager and three are still very little. All children grow up so fast. I remember when the older ones were small and it does seem like yesterday. However, no matter how many times I “go through this process,” I am never ready for it. This ar...
I read an article in the Athletic Business magazine, from April 2017, entitled, “Commonsense tips for Successful Leadership” by Don Schumacher. Schumacher is the recently retired Executive Director of the National Association of Sports Commissions. He feels that one of the reasons he was successful in his last position and in other leadership positions he held was due in large to the use of common sense. In fact, he says that one of the most useful books he read, that helped him with a common sense approach, was the book, “All I Really Neede...
I don’t watch a great deal of TV and I don’t really have a favorite show when I do watch. However, this past year a dear friend of mine, and my daughter both asked me to start watching “Grey’s Anatomy.” I didn’t watch like most people might and start with Season One. I just jumped right in and started watching current episodes. While I still don’t know everything that happened throughout the entire duration of the show, I do enjoy the show, when I catch it. In particular, I enjoyed last season’s finale, but probably not for the reasons everyone...
Have you ever been sitting in a meeting or a classroom and suddenly you (maybe by yourself, or maybe with a friend) - get the giggles? Me? All the time. I remember one time in particular as if it were yesterday. I was on vacation in Hawaii with my family, more than 30 years ago. My dad, brother and I were sitting at an outdoor table waiting for my mom and sister to finish some souvenir shopping. Suddenly a bird flew by and pooped from the air, as they do, and it landed smack dab on my dad’s forehead and glasses. My brother and I were less t...
I recently read an article by Mark Anthony Garrett in the November/December 2016 magazine “Fostering Families Today”. It’s an article called “Service is Everything: Seven Steps to Providing Outstanding Service.” In the article, Garrett lists and describes the seven steps he feels are important to service. He breaks them down using the letters S-E-R-V-I-C-E. I enjoyed this article very much, as I absolutely believe in service. I want to share it with you all, but first I want to share with you, my own definition of “service.” As I see it, servi...
Have you ever pushed the elevator button to “remind” the elevator that you are there waiting for it to come pick you up and deliver you? Have you ever yelled at the traffic light, while in your car, so the light would change faster? Sometimes we think we have more influence on certain people or in certain situations than we really do, like with the elevator, or the traffic light. No matter how many times we push the elevator button, or yell at the light, it’s not going to come any faster. However, on other occasions we actually have more influ...
I was working on my computer the other day and reading an email that talked about a change in work procedure. I didn’t think there needed to be one in this particular case and of course, I knew I would follow it, but none the less I uttered out loud, “if it ain’t broke,” but I didn’t finish my sentence. However, there were three students in my office working on homework at the time, and they DID finish the sentence as they saw fit. The first said, “if it ain’t broke, don’t break it.” The second student said, “No, that’s not how it goes. It’s...
By LU SWEET Western Wyoming Community College I recently read an article called “Maxims For Athletic Directors to Live By.” Since I am an athletic director at Western Wyoming Community College, I paid extra attention. I enjoyed this article very much and am therefore sharing it with you. The article listed eleven maxims (general truths, fundamental principles or rule of conducts) for athletic directors to live by on the job that are absolutely appropriate in life as well. First, we should all ‘control what we can’ and not dwell on what we can...
A couple of weeks ago, I read an article by tennis great, Serena Williams titled “Leadership Lessons.” (Coach, September/October 2016) In it, Serena talked about four traits she tries to live by in order to be the best tennis player she can be. I share this with you, because these traits are not only good reminders for effective living, at work, at home, when you deal with others and how you carry yourself. First, Serena says that people need to take the “long-term view”. She says that for her life is more than just tennis, which is her job. I...
A while back, Cindy Hafner, the wonderful Aquatic Director here at Western Wyoming Community College shared an article she had read with all of us via email. It was called “Five Manageable New Year’s Resolutions for Swimmers” by Mike Gustafson and it was published in Splash Magazine. The article listed five New Year’s Resolutions swimmers could make and do to become better at their sport. They were: 1. Get to practice five minutes early – Get to your lane. 2. Say nice things about teammates. 3. Stop complaining. Complaints are the farts of...
I was listening to the radio on my way to work this morning and heard the song “Wish I Didn’t Know Now” by Toby Keith. If you haven’t heard it, some of the lyrics are “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then. I wish I could start this whole thing over again.” I started thinking about how many times I get stuck in this kind of mindset…the mindset involving hindsight. Hindsight is when you understand a situation or event better only after is happens. I’m sure you’ve also heard the saying, “Hindsight is 20/20.” by Billy Wilder. I starte...
I teach classes at the college. In one class we talked about doing things out of the ordinary, or out of their comfort zone. I challenged my students to do something they wouldn’t normally do, like sitting on the other side of the cafeteria for lunch, or sitting in a different seat in class. I didn’t ask them to do anything earth-shattering, just something out of their normal routine and then report back as to how they felt. We are all creatures of habit. Routine is comfortable and dependable. Many of us order the same thing most every time we...
