September 06, 2010 in a packed stadium in Washington, DC two fine college football teams from Boise, ID and Blacksburg, VA (Boise State and Virginia Tech)  participated in a great game between highly ranked teams.  It was the first game for both.  It was one of those œits too bad somebody has to lose games.

In the moment, that was the feeling.  Before the week is out however, the winner, Boise State will see their stock go up and Virginia Tech, will see theirs go down, at least a little.  After all we are talking National Championship here.  IN SEPTEMBER.

Frank Beamer and his Virginia Tech staff will now have to fight very hard to keep the players on track to meet the challenges facing them for the 11 or12 games left on the schedule.  Meanwhile , Boise State coaches will be doing what they see to do to prevent an unexpected loss.  I say unexpected because the experts have said that this game was the only REAL challenge on their schedule.  Of course, if they are wrong no one will remember anyway.  And, it will be the coachs screw up.

With all of this attention already on the end of the season,  I am wondering if the athletes and coaches really take the time to appreciate the day-to-day process they are in.  You know, maybe, œstop and smell the coffee?

Having a vision for the future is critical.  Just as critical once you are clear about what that is for you is the discipline to put it away and focus on the day-to-day experience.  Sometimes we are so anxious to get where we are going that we miss how special the journey is.

The athletes going through their college experience are truly in a œonce in a lifetime adventure.  When it  is over, it is over for good and will never be duplicated.  It is why I think the athletes who sign to play their sport as a professional right out of high school are making a mistake.  Just the œgrowing up process that happens from freshman to senior year is so impactful, not to mention everything else they will experience.

The point I really want to make is two-fold;

-Where are we rushing to?

-Why are we in such a hurry to get there?

All anyone is ever going to experience is  TODAY.  It will be 24 hours long and their will be opportunities in every day to laugh and love and fail and succeed and, best of all, have FUN.  The question is will we actually notice that all of those things happened.

I think one of the biggest factors is the unspoken thought/feeling we have that œsomeday we will get to the place where all our concerns are handled. figured out, etc. (and, the sooner the better)  There is no such place or time.  Human beings do not naturally experience being secure, no matter how wonderful their circumstances are.

So what prevents us from feeling secure even when we are?  What has not see what there is to appreciate?  Try this on.  It is our resistance to œwhats so.  Rocks are hard, water is wet and œpeople are crazy  I dont mean this badly.  I just want you to begin to notice how much energy you put into what you cant do anything about and how little energy you put into what you can do something about.

Of course, if we did that we would have to be fully responsible for whatever is going on in our lives.  Example:  If I have a relationship with someone that isnt working the way I would like it to work, am I directing my energy toward what I can do or am I directing it toward the other person and what they need to do?

You are never going to have anything to say about what someone else does. That is their choice.  Oh, they may do what you wanted them to do.  It was still their choice and their choice alone.

Every day notice what is happening right now.  Identify what there is to be grateful for.  Appreciate even the tiniest accomplishment for the day.  I can smell the coffee brewing already!