John Wooden Ted Talk, well worth the 17 minutes of time.
From: The Maxwell Daily Reader, John C. Maxwell
Date: January 13
Title: Control What’s In You
From: Your Road Map for Success
Gist:
John Wooden was perhaps the greatest college athletics coach to ever have lived. During his tenure his teams won 10 national championships in college basketball, and coached two NBA Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul Jabar, and Bill Walton. For Wooden these were not the accomplishments, they were the by product of his methodology, and preparation. More importantly, Coach Wooden found greater pride in the men he helped shape than the championships they won together.
Coach Wooden taught a simple 7-point creed:
- Be True to Yourself
- Make Yourself a Masterpiece
- Help Others
- Drink Deeply From Good Books, Especially the Bible
- Make Friendships a Fine Art
- Build a Shelter Against a Rainy Day
- Pray for Guidance and Give Thanks for your Blessings Every Day
There’s a central theme to Wooden’s creed, they involve actions a person can take as an individual. In todays entry John Maxwell uses John Wooden as the hallmark of what it means to focus on the internal mechanisms of our lives. Maxwell points out that most of the stressors, and fears we feel are external factors which we internalize. Because these factors are outside of ourselves, and outside of our controls they take an enormous toll on our psyche.
To achieve success, Maxwell states “you need to remember that what happens in you is more important than what happens to you.” As individuals we can’t control what outside forces will invade our life, but we can choose our response.
Favorite Quote:
“Do no let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” -John Wooden
Action:
Focus on the things you can do something about today.
Ramble on:
Perhaps my deepest flaw as a person. I have conditioned myself to internalize outside circumstances which creates a train of internal anxiety and crazy. After I digest this consumption of stress, I find I am capable of looking at an issue objectively and moving forward accordingly. The problem I face when going through this process is I will at times need to partake in self destructive behavior like over eating, or getting drunk.
This idea of controlling what I can control is one I’ve tried to incorporate into my life, yet will often go down the path of unhealthy internalization of the exterior when urgency dictates I respond immediately. Conceptually, a simple notion…don’t get upset about things I can’t control…in practice something I struggle with, I wonder if part of the issue is my perceived sense of power.