Control: Soccer Lessons

"You can't control the refs, the weather, the fans, the other team, or your teammates. You can only control yourself."

   One part of soccer that is very hard for players to understand is the mindset. They have a hard time focusing. What I mean by that is they take their mind off the game. They focus on how the referees are making bad calls. They focus on how the weather isn't good soccer weather. They focus on the fans taunting them. They focus on the other team who are making dirty fouls. They focus on how their teammates are not working as hard as they could. What they don't focus on is the only thing they can control: themselves. Players choose if they are going to make excuses and say "we lost because it was rainy." Or, they can push past it and play the game.

   Just like my players, you have a choice. There are so many things in life you can't control. You choose if you focus on them and make excuses. You choose if you will focus on that driver who cut you off on the way to work, the fact that the power went out so you went to work looking like a mess, that it is raining and you can't go somewhere to get a break, or that your boss yelled at you for messing up. Or, you can just do your best and focus on what you can control: yourself.

   Matthew 6:34 says: "Therefore, don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." In this instance we are not worrying about things we can't control but tomorrow. Still this verse applies because we cannot control what will happen tomorrow. We can plan and work to try to make sure certain things happen but sometimes circumstances happen that we can't control. When those things happen we can choose if we will focus on that and worry about that; or, if we will roll with the punches.

   So, are you focused too much on things you cannot control? What can you do to try to focus on the things you can control?

   Image from here.