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As a former college basketball coach, March Madness is my favorite “holiday” (insert eye roll from my wife).
I love the intrigue, excitement, and storylines. My wife always shakes her head when I plop down on the couch for days at a time.
There are really three kinds of basketball teams when March rolls around…
- FAVORITES – The favorites need to stay focused and locked-in on their goals. Since they are human, they still need some reminders about what they are playing for and how they can best accomplish their goals.
- UNDERDOGS – The underdogs might be playing with a chip on their shoulder. They have something to prove. They need encouragement and belief that they can do what others think they can’t do.
- DONE PLAYING – And finally, we have the teams that are no longer playing. Their season ended quicker than they would have liked or it was not as successful as they hoped for. But, a different kind of hope is what they have now. They are looking to the future. They need a vision of what can be.
That is a really quick summary of the three teams, but it is also quite similar to the types of people that we deal with on a regular basis.
No matter who you are interacting with, they need some kind of reminder, encouragement, or hope.
It doesn’t matter how minuscule our interaction with a person might be, we have an opportunity to inspire them, catch them being good, or just put a smile on their face. Our brief (or lengthy) interaction with them might just be the catalyst to get them through the next 10, 30, or 60 minutes of their day.
“Survive and advance” is a phrase we’ll be hearing a lot during these post-season tournaments. Whether you like to say “survive” or “thrive”, every interaction we have with people is an opportunity to advance them forward.
Stay encouraged! Stay positive!