How we doing? For so many with high anxiety, depression and general fears, this is so hard. There’s no end date. We don’t know the outcome. We’re facing something we’ve never seen before. Businesses small and large are facing challenges they never predicted. Can I offer a word of encouragement and maybe a charge for when we come out of this?
They say basketball is a game of runs. The reality is that we have been on a pretty good roll. Life was cruising with a few bumps here and there. Then it happened. Our opponent just hit us with something we never saw coming. It happened so fast. In just a few moments, we got hit with a run. The gym is loud. We’re looking to one another to try to figure it out. The score is changing and momentum just went to the other team. Every coach (except Roy Williams) and arm chair quarterback at home knows what you have to do and do it fast….
You call TIMEOUT!
You call timeout to stop the momentum.
You call timeout to get control
You call timeout to take a breath
You call timeout to regroup
Across the nation and world, we just reached the huddle. So let me grab the clipboard and do some coaching if it’s okay…..
My hoops coach friends will know what an “ATO” is. It’s known as the “after-timeout” play. When you burn a precious timeout, especially to stop a run, a great ATO can make all the difference in the world. In a close game, an ATO could make the difference between a win or a loss.
If I was facing the nation right now I would use this timeout to draw up an ATO that would be aggressive, strong and take back control of the game. I would look the nation in the eye in the huddle and say that “when we come out of this, WE ARE WINNING THIS GAME!” We’re going to win it because we are going to punch back with everything that got us here. We’re going to work together as a team. We’re going to rely on each other and when we get tired, we’re going to sub in another player with just as much energy.
When we come out of this…..we’re winning this game.
To the small business owner facing an unknown future…when we come out of this, we’re winning this game!
To all those that got let go from their job…when we come out of this, we’re winning this game!
To the students that lost seasons, proms, graduations and so many other things….when we come out of this, we’re winning this game!
To all you on the front lines in healthcare, first responders and in the supply chain….when we come out of this (because of YOUR efforts), we’re winning this this game!
To the teachers using technology to reach students and keep them engaged….when we come out of this, we’re winning this game!
To this nation that is reeling from a run from the opponent, when we come out of this…we’re winning this game!
Friends, we are in a timeout. Be thankful for it. It’s tough. Our team is tired. We’re depleted. In some cases, we’re even in some foul trouble.
But when we come out of this timeout…..
WE’RE WINNING THIS GAME!!
LET’S GO!!!!
Also available on the “4 Corners of Life” podcast.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4BsjA3UFETRVupkdqpNNn7?si=rEHnlGcYS9KvAkZDQB_W9Q
