Own Your Development

Related image





24 days of preparation. Countless hours of drills, reps, conditioning, film study, practice, lifting, and meetings all leading up to the first football game of the season. 5-5. At the end of last season we left with that record as our reality and hanging our heads in defeat. Now we have a chance to turn the tide and change the course of our team. September 7 arrives and we have a chance to see the result of our work. Out of conference game, and we go through the motions. We roll into Denison thinking "we're ONU, polar bear nation, they can touch us."

Fast forward a couple hours; 42-13. We change, we load back up on the bus with a confused look on our faces. Ohio Northern Polar Bears fall to the Denison Big Red. "They wanted it more" coach says as we gather the next day to figure out what we need to do to get back on top. One thing our coach said really resonated with me and I believe it to be true. "Success is not only found in victory, but in how you respond." What is so important about that is it applies to all areas of life. Just because you fail doesn't mean it's over. Failing is only a stepping stone that helps build you to the next level. Each time you get back up after falling down is what propels your success even further. The only time we truly fail is if we stop getting back up.

Right now we have a chance to respond. New week ahead, new team, new game, and a new mindset to accompany. I choose this week not to go through the motions or accept average effort in anything. I choose to be intentional in everything I do. I have to own my own development. It won't just fall into my hands. These lessons learned in football, I believe, can have a greater impact on my life that will lead into my job, family, and future. I guess that's why they say "football is more than just a game."

Until Next Time,
James

Comments

  1. Michael BernerSeptember 11, 2019 at 5:37 PM

    This is a great post as it applies to so many areas of life. As someone who is heavily involved in athletics, and have been for the entirety of my life, you realize that you are going to fall down a lot, but what defines the kind of player you are is how you get back up. Often times it is easy to lay down and quit. However, that is never the attitude of someone who is a winner.

    ReplyDelete
  2. McKenna NewmanSeptember 12, 2019 at 1:31 PM

    After hearing about this past weekend's football game I was worried about how you all would respond. This post gives me hope. I love your attitude heading into this week's game and I hope for the best for you and your team. I think a lot of lessons were learned this past Saturday and it can only make the team stronger moving forward. Good luck this weekend.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Numbers in PR

Image
If you're like me, then you were a fan of math until the alphabet was thrown into the mix. From algebra to calculus, I was able to do the work well, but I never truly enjoyed doing it. In chapter 10 of Social Media for Strategic Communication, it talks about measurements, evaluation, budget, and calendars in public relations. We have talked about calendars before, but what stood out to me was the measurements and evaluation. In our class discussion, it was brought up that a common misconception with people working in PR is that they do not use numbers or analytics. I was one who believed PR was more about working with people or social media and not the analytical side of things. I chose marketing and communications to study because I thought that was an opportunity to put my creativity and people skills to use. I love working with a team or interacting with new people when I'm on the job. Hearing that even in social media and public relation that analytics still fol...
Read more

Types of Listening

Image
How many of you would consider yourselves a good listener? What is the difference between hearing and listening? Do you think you practice any bad listening habits? These are all questions we were asking in my interpersonal communications class when we started a new second on listening. Hearing is simply the process of sound waves hitting your eardrum, but listening is receiving and responding to the messages. when talking about listening, there is mindful and mindless. Mindful listening is paying careless attention and mindless is focusing on something else or reacting with the "okay" or "yeah" but not really knowing what is being said. You can't stop yourself from hearing, but you can stop listening. Here are five poor listening habits that can happen when we stop listening. 1. Pseudo-listening. This is where you try to trick the speaker into think you are paying careful attention. this form of listening gives the appearance that you are paying careful...
Read more

End of the Road

Image
When I first signed up for the class, it was just to get more credits and work towards a minor. I thought the class would be a breeze. In my mind, social media was a good tool to use in my field of study, but I assumed my knowledge of social media was advanced enough to where I could make it through this class without any problems. While that was not the case, I learned more than I ever thought I would about social media and how much goes into using it. I have three takeaways that I want to share from my experiences in this class. First, I can't run from the numbers anymore. I have said this before, but I was never a huge fan of analytics when I first came to college. I did well in the classes I took, but it was never a joy of mine. However, from this class I learned that it is everywhere even in social media. The longer I try to get away from it the harder time I am going to have when I must use it; so why not embrace right? Second, find your voice and stay true to you....
Read more