John Wooden. An amazing coach. And with all of his success, and all of the notoriety that came with it, he stayed humble. An old story I heard many times before: this great coach could be found sweeping the floor of the basketball court after practices in the evenings after the players went home.
Don’t be afraid to grab a broom.
Coach Wooden shared some wisdom that he entitled “9 Promises That Can Bring Happiness” – and after reading them, it helped me put things in perspective a bit better. Here’s the list:
1. Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness and prosperity as often as possible. The more positive you sound, the more positive you’ll feel. And that rubs off on others.
2. Promise yourself to make all your friends know there is something in them that is special and that you value. This one cannot be done often enough. An amazing daily habit to get in to.
3. Promise to think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best in yourself and others. Don’t expect average of yourself. Don’t settle. A difficult concept to embrace day in and day out – but one that is truly wise.
4. Promise to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
5. Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. You’re a constant work in progress. Build yourself up in all ways – and fall in love with the construction process.
6. Promise to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the future. Learn from your mistakes – but don’t dwell on them. Dwelling on them distracts you from the current process. And besides – you can’ go back in time and unring a bell.
7. Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile.
8. Promise to give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Let’s be honest here – social media has given a voice to tons of people that solely focus on bashing others. For some reason, they get off on it, as if cutting someone off at the knees makes them taller. You know you’re doing something right when those haters come out of the woodwork and start taking shots remotely from their mobile phones.
9. Promise to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit trouble to press on you.
A wise man, indeed.
Morning workout consisted of a yoga class, stretching and some core body work. The medication I was on sapped by energy a bit – but now that I’m done with it, I should have the extra pep in my step at 3:30am from now on.
