(ThyBlackMan.com) We play the game of life with one goal in mind: to win. For some, winning is not everything, it’s the only thing, to quote a legendary coach. But how may we improve our chances of winning every day? How do we wake up and go to bed knowing that we have won in spite of the various obstacles and challenges thrown our way? By elevating what I call our Life IQ! Basketball, among many sports, offers a plethora of cues to give us the winning edge. Here are three ways the game of basketball – as coached by the great Pat Riley – can help to raise our Life IQ!
Beware of Peripheral Opponents
You have to defeat a great player’s aura more than his game, writes former Lakers coach Pat Riley. A peripheral opponent is a person who stays on the perimeter or outer edges of your vision – boss, ex spouse, ex business partner – any person who lingers in
your space to cause you the most trouble.
The ‘aura’ they bring is mostly negative. For me personally, it’s my ex. Instead of moving on with her life, she lingers on the fringes, planting seeds of deceit whenever and wherever she can. The Apostle Paul in the Christian Bible called it a “messenger of Satan”, for which the Apostle appealed for relief.
We all have them; unfortunately, though, we don’t always get relief. Don’t allow it to distract you. Play your game. Stick to your goals. Don’t be thrown off. The game is yours to win.
Use the Pick and Roll Wisely
Look for your choices, pick the best one, and then go with it, says Coach Riley. The pick and roll is one of the most fundamental movements in basketball. The pick and roll is an offensive play in which a player sets a screen (pick) for a teammate handling the ball and then slips behind the defender (rolls) to accept a pass. The ultimate goal is to create offense.
Likewise, you can create offense in your life by using opportunity to open up more opportunity. Even if someone’s intention is bad, it’s still opportunity. Resist the urge to judge one’s intent – just use the screen to roll to the basket!
Learn to Move without the Ball
Pat Riley: A particular shot or way of moving the ball can be a player’s personal signature, but efficiency of performance is what wins the game. One of the biggest things we can do with our lives is to learn to move without the ball. What that means is the ability to keep moving – even when you don’t sense opportunity! You don’t have a lead; you don’t have a client; you don’t even have cash in your account.
Efficiency is measured not when things are going well, but when things are tough, too. Let the game come to you. Keep moving. More millionaires were created during the Great Depression than any other period in American history. Most opportunity is created when there’s zero evidence it’s even there. Ask a jump shooter mired in a slump how he or she plans to bust out of it and they’ll say two words: keep shooting.
In spite of the challenges we face on the court of life, we can still win the game.
Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes
This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.
In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitestrategiescoaching.com.