I was watching Swamp Kings on Netflix. It’s a documentary series about the University of Florida Gators, specifically the era with Tim Tebow and their (almost) 3 National Championship wins. I love watching sports-related shows. Give me some Hard Knocks, Quarterback, or Full Swing any day. But as I watched this one episode in particular, one of the previous players was called into the coach's office and the coach said the equivalent of, “I’m calling your parents.” He expected a lot from his players, as most coaches do. The coach, Urban Meyer, thought this might put some fear into this player and that would make him “straighten up.” The parents come and are rough, as in I think they came to the meeting drunk and had an unexpected and wild conversation with the coach. The coach approached the player after the meeting and said something to the effect of, “Keep doing whatever you did to come from that situation to end up here. Keep up the hard work.” It was a great example of doing your best with what you’ve been given. The coach was disappointed in a lack of “perfection” from this player, but that meeting changed his perspective. Once he witnessed firsthand the lack of stability and the type of environment he grew up in, he was no longer disappointed, but impressed. That same player ended up being the captain and leader of the team before graduating.

Isn’t the ability to shift your perspective an amazing gift? The simple shift in a coach observing a player differently. Viewing the hard work and determination it must have taken for his player to get to the college level instead of the things he could be improving created a stronger bond and positive reinforcement. I love applying perspective shifts to daily moments. For example, last night my little girl decided to be a night owl and woke up from 2:00-4:00 am. She wanted to read books and have conversations. I wanted to sleep. I was exhausted from her illness the previous week and I was getting the start of my own sore throat. As I lay in bed listening to her talk to her baby doll over the monitor slightly annoyed that I was still awake as was she, I had a thought that shifted my perspective. I’m so glad she woke up like this and not because she was still sick.

 When she was sick last week, there was a moment that choked me up. She had just thrown up and after we put her back to bed, she looked at me and in the most sincerely innocent voice anyone could muster she said, “Mommy, can I be better now?” The question made me want to cry. It made me emotional because of the lack of control we all have. Of course, I wanted our little nugget to feel better, but there was another part to it. The simple question made me think about all the kids who might be asking their parents that same question but with more severe illnesses. How hopeless it feels when you can’t help. So, yes, I was frustrated to be awake for most of the night last night, but grateful that the illness didn’t last more than a week and that she was a cheerful little person even at 2 a.m.!

What has been bothering you lately? Can you shift your viewpoint of the situation? It seems like such a small practice, but the way you frame things in your mind makes an extreme difference in how you see circumstances affecting you. You can’t control what happens, but you can control your attitude. Maybe that’s why sports documentaries speak to me…down by 14 with 2 minutes left in the game? At that moment you either decide it’s over or you decide it’s not. What viewpoint are you going to take? What’s your perspective?

Have a great weekend, everyone. Happy reading.