Even The Unsuspecting!

Joyce and I had a chance to go to Isleton yesterday to watch our 9 year old grandson, Will, play in a basketball league. What an experience for us. Joyce wrote about it on her blog too so if you have a chance check it out at www.onthejourneywithjoyce.blogspot.com.

Will's team won the game by a point and Will was the leading scorer, but there was so much more going on than that. My son, Adam, was the teams coach and I watched him instruct his team and son in a loving way. At 9 years old they need to know that however they perform they are cared for and life goes on and I was amazed at how well he was able to do that and still keep the focus on playing well and winning the game.

As for Will's performance there were many high and low points although I am not sure that he can differentiate between them. One moment Will was grabbing a rebound and in one smooth move putting the ball right back up into the hoop and the next moment he might not be able to figure out where to stand during free throws. His ability to focus for more than 30 seconds at a time was flawed. The hope is that as Will matures those moments of focus and thereby brilliance will increase and the staying power of that focus will also last for long periods at a time. This made me think not only of my life but also of some of the greats in life and of course basketball.

In looking back on my life, I can reflect on the times that my focus was acute and some of things accomplished that may have seemed difficult to almost impossible. Also unfortunately I remember times where lack of focus meant failure.

If you take a look at some of the most memorable players in the game of basketball, why were they so memorable? Usually it meant performance at an amazingly high level for prolonged amounts of time and peaking at the most critical time of a game. But not just once but time after time. How many times, for instance did Michael Jordan hit a game winning shot and more importantly why was he able to perform at that amazingly high level when others with seemingly as much talents couldn't compare? Focus. That's right, focusing on the task at hand.

As I watch Will just starting out and I see the pinnacle of an amazing career like MJ's I can't help and look at my journey, it's highs and lows. With extremely high hope I move forward working on my ability to focus for prolonged time and at the most critical times at the task at hand to deliver my goals and dreams for me and my family. How are you doing with your focus? What are your hopes? Please let me know by sending me your comments.

Have a hopeful day!