Locking In Your Focus.

In 1994, my senior year at Blue Ridge High School, our soccer coach Lloyd Elling planned something that all of us on the team thought was a little bit crazy at the time.  Looking back, I completely understand his logic in purpose to help us win the game that day.  What was the method that Coach Elling attempted to use you ask?  It went like this;  we live in a small town, and some of the school district's in which we competed with required quite a bit of travel time.  The team we were facing that day was one of our toughest opponents, and the furthest distance from our school (about an hour and a half bus ride).  As we all loaded up onto the bus, he handed us a key on a string.  As we settled into our seats he began to explain, in order to win the game, we needed to focus.  We needed to clear our minds, and focus on what it would take to win.  We needed to create a positive mindset, a mental edge. The key was an inanimate object with a duel meaning.  The key  to victory is focus.  

We lost the game that day, but we all took away a valuable lesson.  We learned that the key to success, win or lose, is our focus.   

What is your focus today?  Is it fixated on the negative?  Are you distracted and frustrated?  I experience these things I just mentioned, and am drawn back to the day on that bus, and realize that I need to take control of that key  and lock in my focus.  Life will beat us up every single day if we allow it to.  Or we can direct our  focus on being the best we can be.  Thank you Coach Elling. 

Until next time.
-Luke