Who knew you could actually learn something playing basketball?Ever notice how nothing is ever our fault? This was revealed to me while playing basketball. After every shot I missed (or made), I would look at the refs and ask why they didn't call a foul. It's their fault I missed the shot right? They should have called a foul and bailed me out - that's why I missed it. How can I live under these conditions? As I thought back over the game, I realized that I was using them as my excuse for every error I made - and in most cases, they had nothing to do with it...I just made a mistake. Don't get me wrong, they are human and miss some calls, but to put the blame on them for all of my mistakes, or hard times in the game, just isn't right.
Let me give another example from my day to day life...have you ever wondered why the person driving in front of you is allowed on the road? Why are they going so slow? Don't they realize I am in a hurry and need to get somewhere fast? I'm meeting some one and these other drivers around me are going to make me late! It was at that point when again I realized I wasn't placing the blame in the right spot...I never thought, "Gee, why didn't I leave just 10 minutes earlier, then I wouldn't be rushed and could have been on time."
I have noticed time and time again that it is easier to blame the things and people around me for decisions I make instead of placing the blame on myself. Not that I think we should be hard on ourselves, I just don't think it's right to take out my bad decisions on those that choose to be around me (I'm sure J would agree with that logic). As a society, we have trained ourselves to look elsewhere for blame when things don't go our way. In some cases, that is totally acceptable because there are outside influences and activities that affect us. For most of the day to day decisions, this isn't the case.
I'm trying to start looking at my decisions and actions before placing blame - and in most cases, blame isn't necessary at all. When I realize where I went wrong, I can work to correct it next time a decision comes my way - isn't that what it's all about? Steady progress? Taylor's basketball coach would tell the girls at each practice that the goal was to get at least a little better after each practice. When you add up all the little improvements, they turn into leaps and bounds of advancement - and by the end of the year, the girls were so much better it was amazing. That is how I'm going to try to walk this out...get a little better at something everyday...
