Even as the words float off the end of my tongue, I realize that I have blown it. This kind of situation usually involves me saying negative words to my teammates or others. It’s so easy for me to become the “cut-down king.” It doesn’t take much, and it could involve something as simple as calling someone a name.

You know the routine: You cut one of your teammates down, and your other teammates laugh. You may try to justify your unkind remarks with the fact that everyone does it, but the truth is that those reckless words cut. They pierce like a sword and cause damage.

Excellence. That power-packed word can be found in catchphrases and taglines, heard in motivational speeches and printed on huge banners. It has been written about in countless books and has inspired major motion pictures. Athletes are especially fond of the word “excellence.” The pursuit of it drives them to practice and train long hours. It compels them to discipline their bodies beyond the capacity of an average human being.

Throughout Les Steckel’s 20 years as an NFL coach, he made stops in San Francisco, Minnesota, New England, Denver, Tennessee (via Houston), Tampa Bay and Buffalo. One place the president and CEO of Fellowship of Christian Athletes never coached was in Oakland, but something about that organization will always stick with him.

Numbers. In sports, they often mean everything. Even the seemingly most inconsequential numbers can spell the difference between winning and losing — the difference between a gold medal and a silver medal, the difference between a championship and second place, the difference between greatness and mediocrity.

Numbers are especially important to professional athletes because things such as a league-leading scoring average or a consistent number of home runs can result in high-dollar contracts and job security.

One athlete’s career-threatening injury is another athlete’s blessing in disguise. At least that’s been the case for Major League Soccer veteran and four-time All-Star Chris Klein, who tore his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 2001 and his left ACL in 2004.

To hear Ryan Hall nonchalantly describe his winding journey as a long-distance runner isn’t much different from watching him glide with apparent ease through treacherous hills and valleys en route to the finish line. But just because he makes it look effortless doesn’t mean his path to competitive greatness has been without a fair number of trials and tribulations.

“I’ve had a really rocky journey,” Hall says. “The hardest thing is picking yourself up after a shattered dream or an injury or when you know you didn’t give your best.”

By most accounts, Kay Yow shouldn’t be one of the greatest women’s basketball coaches of all time. History alone presents many reasons why her rise to legendary status was improbable at best.

When people think of excellence in higher education, Oxford University is often mentioned. That’s because some of the world’s most foundational philosophical ideas in government, religion, sociology, literature and business have been intellectually designed and developed by men and women who attended its various colleges. Luminaries such as John Wycliffe, Adam Smith, John Wesley, William Penn, J. R. R. Tolkien, T. S. Eliot, Margaret Thatcher and C. S. Lewis are just a few notables to have walked Oxford’s hallowed halls.

But anyone who believes brilliance can only come from places like Oxford, Cambridge or perhaps places in America like MIT or the Ivy League schools fails to recognize the simplicity of wisdom.

Wait. One of the worst words in the English language, isn’t it? That’s where I am right now. Waiting. It’s my senior volleyball season, and I’ve been out with a shoulder injury for over a week. There’s nothing I can really do but wait. Wait for recovery. Wait for my doctor’s appointment. Wait for my trainer to clear me to play.

For me, all the waiting does is make me think about my injury, stress about missing games, and get anxious to play. I’m so tired of all this waiting! Are you? What are you waiting on? Waiting for a shoulder to heal might be trivial compared to what’s on your mind. A doctor’s diagnosis. A job offer. A way to pay the bills.