When You Get the Ball....

There are times in life when things happen because they...happen. We are all affected by the inexplicable, random events that transpire within the confines of our lives. No matter what you do, they exist and they will continue to exist. We learn to work around them, or even use them when we can. 

Then, there are times when things happen because we make them happen. These events in our lives have a cause and an effect. They are the fires that burn in our lives because somewhere, at some time, a spark existed and the fuel was found. These aren't random events. They are deliberate. And they are ours.

Our lives abound with opportunity. Where those opportunities fail is not in their existence, but rather in our capacity to either see them, or run with them. If life is a ball game, the ball is very real. Getting your hands on it is one thing. Running with it toward the goal, step by step, opponent by opponent, is quite another. 

Using this analogy for life, let's examine just some of the outcomes of the game at a personal level. One of those outcomes might be that you spend the entire match running around, thinking that you are engaged with the purpose of this game, but never really working to get your hands on the ball. From your perspective, it is up to your teammates to get that ball to you. After all, you've been waiting near the goal for so long! Haven't they seen you there yet? Why haven't they thrown the ball your way?

The answer to that is that you haven't run toward it. You haven't shown initiative. You haven't shown anyone what that ball and all its potential means to you. Why would anyone throw the ball your way when you haven't proven its value in the way you have been running? You may have no idea what to do with it when you get it. After all, you haven't proven anything to the contrary, have you?

Outcome Number Two might be that you actually do get the ball. Its a fluke, but you got it! Now what? Should I pass it on to another team mate? Do I run for the goal? What is the strategy, right here, right now? Well, while you are thinking about that, an opponent tackles you, takes the ball and sends it the other way. Your lack of readiness comes from the fact that you didn't expect to get the ball in the first place. That being the case, your opportunities were lost because you hadn't prepared to get it, or you just didn't think it was possible for you in the first place.

Outcome Number Three is the one where you run for the ball and, using your natural abilities and your acquired understanding of the game, you get your readied hands upon it. Taking it firmly under your control you turn for the goal and make your play. From this point on, it doesn't matter what happens next. The important thing is that you know how to get that ball rolling and what to do with it. Even if this initial opportunity to score is not realised, you have proven that you are ready, that you value what the ball represents and that you know where and what the goal is. Don't worry. You will get it to the goal at some stage of the game simply because of those factors. 

Life is like that. Each player needs to understand two things. One, that you have a unique gift set. This is the culmination of you - your talents, your intelligence, your passion and personality and your acquired knowledge and skill. The second is your deliberate process to appreciate what you have and use that unique gift set in your life to make your own success. 

Is this YOUR definition of success?

'Success' is an interesting word. It means many things to many people. For some, it is the veneer of finance and material gain that defines success. For others, it is far deeper in its expectations and outcomes. Whatever it means to you, it should result in the satisfaction of your soul, a happiness that is derived from an understanding of what will make you happy. Most find that it is found in simplicity, not complexity. In the game of life, there is a ball and there is a goal. There is a team on your side and a team against. That is the simplicity of it. Making it more complex than that is a mixture of your definitions of happiness, and the random events in life that tend to alter our course for a period of time. Every sailor who sails into the wind knows to 'tack', but each deviation off course is validated by the fact that the destination remains unchanged.

You will succeed if you understand what it means for you, and how you can uniquely attain it with what you have already, and what you can learn.

Shelton.