Lessons for a New Year

Grrrr. My blogger buttons are still MIA. (I’m missing the buttons that show up on your “new post” page that allow you to add formatting like bold and italics, post pictures and make live links in your post.) Thanks Kasmin for the encouragement that you have been through this and eventually you got your buttons back. I’ve sent two messages to the Blogger folks but still no reply. GAH! I miss my pictures.

Well, one of my resolutions was to make sure something on the little ole’ blog was worth reading. A few months ago, I took a strengths finder test by the Gallup Organization. I thought for at least a little while, I might focus my posts on these strengths and how I’ve been learning to use them in all areas of my life.

OK – when I read back over that, it sounds a bit self centered. But actually, I’m hoping that this process will give you encouragement to work in your strengths as well. Actually, the premise is that we have abilities in almost all the 34 strengths but we clearly are strongest in just a few and those are our “sweet spots” – when we are working in our strengths, we feel complete, content and fulfilled.

One of my strengths is titled “Learner”. “People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.”

Even before I took the test, I knew this would be among my top five. I’ve always been a big reader and these days, I could surf the net for hours reading new articles, and find new tidbits of knowledge to store away. The problem comes in that I’m not always the best at application. My other four top strengths, while unique and helpful in many ways, are very passive and cerebral kinds of strengths. The frustration comes for me in that I’m great at collecting information, not so good at putting it to use.

Monday night, after we said good-bye to Brad’s family, put the kids to bed and did a final quick pick-up of the house, Brad and I settled in to catch the last quarter of the Fiesta Bowl. I love college football and the busy New Year’s weekend with houseguests didn’t give us much time to catch any of the games. We watched the most incredible end to a game we’ve ever seen! If you don’t follow college ball, the game was between University of Oklahoma – a team used to bowl games and the favorite for the night, and Boise State – a real underdog who hadn’t been to a bowl game in ages. Boise State led for almost the whole ball game until Oklahoma had two quick scores at the end of the 4th quarter to move to the lead. The second score was from an intercepted pass thrown by the Boise quarterback. With only a minute left in the game, it really looked like the Oklahoma Sooners had stolen the win from Boise. In an incredible run of great plays, Boise came back to tie the game and force it into overtime. In an incredibly exciting finale, Boise St. won due to some incredible factors.

And so I give to you, “Lessons Learned from the Boise St. Performance in the Fiesta Bowl”

Lesson #1 – Never give up even when things look impossible.
Don’t let the clock tell you what is possible. The impossible can happen when you least expect it!

Lesson #2 – Surround yourself with people who believe in you.
When interviewed after the game about the intercepted pass he threw, the Boise quarterback said he got past the mistake quickly when about 10 of his teammates came up to him and said, “We believe in you.” Wow! I want to surround myself with people like that. Ones who will lift me up and believe in me even when I fail.

Lesson #3 – Use the whole play book.
Boise State’s final score in regulation play was a “trick” play – a lateral pass between two players who weren’t the quarter back (I can’t remember what positions they played.) Their winning score in the OT was the old “Statue of Liberty” play. Creativity and perseverance make for a winning combination.

Lesson #4 – Take advice from others.
Those creative plays used to win the game – they were brought to the table by the 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks. The coach was quick to give these players the credit at the awards ceremony. (Another lesson – share the spotlight with those who help you.)

Lesson #5 – Success doesn’t mean much without the ones we love by our sides.
After his game-winning two-point conversion, running back Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend, Broncos cheerleader Chrissy Popadics. She said yes.

Who knew there was so much to learn from football?