The Power of Cycles

There are all sorts of cycles in life…and in sports. No one ever went straight from the bottom to the top, not ever. The body/brain combo is meant to seek an even keel…homeostasis if you will. We of course, being hard charging athletes, coaches and folks in general do not want any part of the lull between the peaks. Yet this constant self-regulating mechanism is always at work. And that it seems to us is the proverbial “good thing”.

Maddening for sure when it happens but nonetheless predictable. There are nearly always lows following highs. The trick is to let them flow by without attaching ourselves to them. We think the phrase “don’t sweat the small stuff” is a good one. The corollary is “it is all small stuff”. This is trickier since we have so much of our time and personal energy invested in our pursuits.

We keep remembering Steve Bultman from Texas A&M saying that all hard work pays off; we just don’t know exactly when. We have a National level guy on our team who went 15 months without a best time…5 shaves…who then broke through to faster territory. The trick is to maintain your faith in your work and stay in touch with those things over which you have control.

The biggest asset you have is your attitude. When you stay in charge of your attitude all things are possible. When life gets tough and you surrender your attitude to the wind which is always blowing this way or that, that’s when the days get long and the nights get short.

Your greatest power in life is your power to choose. And with this great power comes great responsibility. You are accountable for who you are. You make the choice…even when you surrender your choice that is a choice in and of itself.

See you poolside and bring your smile!