Five for the 4th

We present another installment of five quotes in which smart and accomplished people give us new ideas and thoughts about life and how we can apply those to our coaching minds.

"I've been in the presence of so many people from whom through osmosis and watching them work. I have learned things about physical comedy, about the nuances of comedy, about the fullness of comedy, but there's always room to learn more. And for me that is an incredibly joyful adventure."

Comedian and actress Susie Essman gives us another example of the process. Her time in the comedy clubs of the Northeast to her hilarious role as Susie Green on the long-running sitcom, "Curb your Enthusiasm." Her joy of the journey kept her head above water during the lean years and the rejections and helped her secure a sitcom for which she has enjoyed for the last 24 years.

"Guess what the number one predictory variable is for mental toughness? When I'm interviewing coaches, scouts, fighter pilot trainers;  guess what they think? The predictor is what they look for. Yeah, like one of the first things that they look for because actually the majority of people who need people to have some level of mental toughness, don't believe they can grow it in people.  Because of this one predictor variable. Humility."

Brene' Brown discussed this idea of humilty being a difference maker in mental toughness. As coaches, we work to instill the quality into our athletes, but are we just as good modeling humilty for them? As coaches, athletes and even parents and fans, the idea of humility is swimming upstream against the raging stream of youth sports. Social media, awards and rewards, recognition and on it goes. Humility is a strength to be worked out each day, especially with those we coach.

"We use language everyday. Whether we use it by speaking or writing or signing. And we do it without thinking about it. Sometimes we think about the words we're going to say and they just tumble out of our mouths, or we make these incredibly sophisticated, meaningful utterances, without any upfront planning at all, without the awareness about the amazing blend of brain processes and bodily processes that it takes just to make one word, let alone combine them into making phrases. And when I said something, the remarkable thing is that the listener can understand it, and words are just puffs of air that is received and then translate back into brainwaves and that activates their brains. So this is such a remarkable, complex, sophisticated process that we use just without thinking about it every day of our lives for everything. Whether it's for social relationships, for our work, for talking about what we're gonna do or reflect about the past expressing emotions. So it goes right to the heart of everything we do." 

Author of "The Language Puzzle,"  Steven Mithen talks about, well...talking. His point of how amazing the idea of language has evolved and continues to affect nearly everything in our lives leads us, as coaches, to honor this miracle and use it effectively, positively and sparingly.

"The very first slide I offer says, research your own experience, absorb what is useful, discard what is not and add what is uniquely your own. This is the journey that we all should be on."

Shawn Myszka is a Ecologoical Dynamics proponent who has started his own company, Emergence, to help coaches and players train more effectively and efficiently. His quote is one that every coach should take to heart. Not everything is for everybody, not every player, sport or movement is the same and we, as coaches, need to meet players and teams where they are and take them to the next level. The tools we use are valuable but there can be many options. As a Coach, research, absorb, discard and add.

Finally from leadership and culture guru Jennifer Garvey Berger who succinctly puts our coaching goal in front of us:  "Create the conditions for good things to happen."  

This is a great one to end on. It's simplicity is brilliant, it's impact neverending.