Poor Attitude

A poor attitude is like a flat tire,

 

You can't go anywhere until you change it.

 

As I watched a player commit the same decision-making error he has been making for years I was reminded of this saying. This kid thinks he knows it all to the point of being damn near un-coachable. I know, I had tried.  There exists a thin line between being determined and being stupid.  And it's not just players who suffer this malady for I have seen coaches flirt with this line as well. The worse of the lot confess they have much to learn and then continue to do as they have always done.

 

I recently sat a young man down in the figurative sense and explained to him that knowledge is not going to find him. Rather, he is going to have to seek knowledge out.  He has to be willing to learn, but that is only the first step.  Acquiring knowledge does you little good if you do not apply it correctly.  The king consideration is a practical and useful application of knowledge.

 

The coaching sphere might provide the best demonstration of what we are discussing here.  It is a well known fact that great players do not always make great coaches.  By extension, some who never played the game turn out to quite successful coaches.  The important difference between the two is not in how they acquired knowledge, but in how they apply and communicate the knowledge they do possess.

 

In the 30+ years I have in coaching various sports on a wide rage of levels I have witnessed humble players excel in the game only to turn into arrogant coaches who fail on the sidelines.  It is a bitter transformation of attitude.  It attests to the stark cold reality of change being constant in the world, but not always positive in nature.  There is also a fine line that exists between a humble attitude and one of arrogance. 

 

Failure on the pitch or on the sideline can be a humbling experience.  It can make one bitter or make one better dependent on your approach to dealing with failure - your attitude. If bitterness is allowed to permeate your consideration of failure chances are your failure will perpetuate itself. If there is recognition and acceptance that you failed, then the possibility for improvement exists.  It really is all about attitude, or how you handle adversity ... and prosperity... that determines your chances for success.