Just Do Us
“Stay focused on your goals, your peace, and your happiness. Don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t contribute to your growth.” – Unknown
Before I begin with the blog for this week, I want to wish all of you a great start to 2024! I pray you will find a way to spend time with the people that mean the most to you.
Now to the topic for this week …
While watching a sports program on TV, an NFL coach was asked how his team would prepare for a tough match-up, one in which they were predicted to lose.
The coach responded:
“As part of your question, you listed the many ways we can lose the game. That’s not the way I look at things. You know … I focus on all the ways we’re going to score more points than the other team. The thing I will reinforce to my team is to ‘Just do us!’”
Just Do Us
There is something beautiful and simple about how the coach handled this situation. If you think about it, life can bring about many challenges, and the easy thing to do is to focus on how the forces will work against us having success.
From my perspective, I have a clear idea of what I can control and what is beyond my reach.
Let’s take some examples of how I can just do us (or me) …
When working on a project, I can make sure to do my work. In other words, I can spend less time criticizing others for falling short and worry about what I can do to help the team succeed.
When a friend calls to find a listening ear, I can give him my undivided attention. It’s not up to me to pass judgement. I just need to be present in that conversation.
When I hear that a colleague earned a promotion, I can show genuine appreciation for her success. This is not the time for me to become angry or envious.
Keep it Simple
There was a time when I firmly believed that my success was entirely up to me. This is what we read in most motivational books.
They usually say, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
However, as I reflect on my personal life and career, it is obvious that others had a big impact on my successes, such as …
As a youngster, I watched my mother work tirelessly to create her business, which taught me the value of a strong work ethic.
My wife showed enormous patience as I worked on my doctorate, even when I was under a lot of pressure.
A manager, Tom, challenged me to be my best, and he shared this line with me during a performance appraisal: “Jimmie, what can I do to help you succeed?”
Finally, the biggest success I’ve had in life is when I dropped the ego business and started to lead with humility.
For this, I thank my Brothers and Sisters and our parish, Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
God is Good!
Inspiring Quotes
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
“The only one you should compare yourself to is you. Your mission is to become better today than you were yesterday. You do that by focusing on what you can do today to improve and grow.” – John Maxwell
Homework Inquiry
During the next week, here’s your homework inquiry: How will you find peace?
I use this opportunity to share with you a unique story and a couple inspiring quotes. Oh ... as a professor at heart, you guessed it, I have a homework inquiry for you. This is a powerful question that might just trigger you to take action on something that really matters in your life. If you feel the Catalyst Newsletter brings benefit to you.