Anyone who has had a child in recreation league basketball has seen the mad frenzy that happens in the last couple minutes of every ball game. Whether one team is far ahead or whether the game is tight, there is this full court press that little league coaches tend to have the children do. The crowd cheers louder and the game gets sloppier by the second.
As the clock ticks down, more mistakes are made and poor judgment abounds. Yesterday, I watched this happen in my son’s ball game. His team was down by about 6 points, and the opposing team started pressing. In the frenzy, the competition made sloppy mistakes and unnecessary fouls, and my son’s team ended up coming back from behind and winning the game by two points.
I think a lot of us do the same thing in life when we feel like we’re running out of time. In our frenzied race with time we get sloppy. We make mistakes, experience undue pressure, and our judgment suffers. Things that would have turned out fine if we’d kept our cool can easily turn south.
With the new year, I’m back working on some big goals after taking a couple months off to relax with the family. In that ramping up toward big goals — setting events on my calendar — also known as “deadlines” I feel that sense of anxiety swell in my chest. That race with time to get everything done by deadlines brings on a pressured feeling akin to what happens in the last minutes of a little league basketball game.
It’s a visceral reaction really — something hard coded into my body. Logically, I know this feeling isn’t necessary. I’m not fighting a fire here. I’m not even behind and losing the game. If anything I’m winning, yet I have this hard-wired feeling that I need to go into full court press.
As this sense of overwhelmed anxiety mounted, I found myself praying for help in quieting my nervous system. The answer came in a phrase, “Look to me in every thought. Doubt not. Fear not.” Then the story from the Bible about Peter walking on the water came to mind. As long as Peter kept his eyes on the Master, he could walk on water. But the minute he started looking at the wind and waves swirling around him, he began to sink.
It’s the same with us … as we keep our minds and thoughts focused on the Master, there’s a peace that comes, and we’re able to have faith necessary to “walk on water.” So, every time I start to feel that nervous panic … that fight or flight knee-jerk reaction in my nervous system … I picture the Lord telling me, “Look to me in every thought. Doubt not. Fear not.” As I do this, I am able to get clear on my next step. Then, one step at a time, I’m able to accomplish my objectives with clarity, focus and good judgment.
Try it the next time you’re feeling that full court press feeling in your nervous system. It works!
Btw, please join me at one of my upcoming live events, I’d love to meet you in person. 🙂 I’m offering two free ones in March – one in the Northwest Georgia area and another in the Knoxville, TN area.
About Marnie Pehrson Kuhns
Marnie Pehrson Kuhns is a Certified SimplyAlign Practitioner™ who uses music and creativity to mentor you past barriers, fears and doubts to discover, create, align with, and deliver your soul’s song (the mission, message or purpose you are on this earth to live). Marnie is a best-selling author with 31 fiction and nonfiction titles. If you'd like Marnie and her husband Dave to work with you personally on Your Great Reinvention, get a FREE 20-minute strategy session with Marnie here.
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