Chosen Attribute: Courage

Dictionary definition: “The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger or pain without fear.”

My definition: “Confidence in the sovereignty of God in seemingly impossible or unachievable circumstances, coupled with the awareness that He is engaged in the process and ultimately responsible for the outcome.”
 

I’ve heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Well, I don’t know about you, but I can definitely identify with that. It’s like we know we’ve taken a wrong turn or are on the wrong road, but we keep going anyway. And, worse yet, we somehow think that we’ll still get to our destination.

Rigo Lopez sounded tired, but satisfied. It was a crisp November evening in Palo Alto, Calif., and Lopez, an upbeat Bay Area FCA area representative, had just concluded two long days of camps. Coordinating a four-hour baseball clinic at Santa Clara University that featured major leaguers, minor leaguers and college players as instructors would have been plenty of work by itself. But the next day, Lopez and the local FCA saff hosted a similar four-hour softball camp 30 minutes away at Stanford University.

Drew Brees rolls his eyes and smiles. By now, he expects it, even if he doesn’t believe he deserves it. But the parallels are just too easy to pass up. “You’ve been dubbed the Patron Saint of New Orleans by just about every media outlet in the country…” they always start. It’s only natural.

Depending on your perspective, 95 yards can be a long or a short distance. A car moving at 70 mph would cover that ground in 2.8 seconds. A competitive sprinter would take closer to 10. For a 19-year-old freshman quarterback leading his football team on a potential game-winning drive in one of college football’s most intimidating environments? Well, 95 yards might look more like 95 continents.

For USC quarterback Matt Barkley, those 95 yards were what he’d been waiting for since he was a kid dreaming of wearing the University of Southern California cardinal and gold.

The NHL isn’t full of Christians. It may be surprising, then, to hear me say that my years in pro hockey have been the most influential in my relationship with the Lord. I’ve met some incredible teammates and NHL staff who have encouraged and strengthened me in a proverbial “iron sharpens iron” kind of way.

In sports, a competitive drive is invaluable. As athletes, our desire to win can push us to the next level. We have to have an internal desire to win if we are going to perform our best when it matters the most, no matter what our “win” might be.

Most of us think about competitiveness in the context of competing against others. If we win, others lose. Or, even worse, if they win, we lose. Personally, I believe this win-lose mindset is a competitive mistake.

Chosen Attribute: Passion

Dictionary definition: “Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling.”

My definition: “A strong desire or emotion that extends far beyond normal feelings and expectations.”