A couple of years ago (December 5, 2016, to be precise), I wrote a post titled “No Stalling”. Wrestling season is nearing its end, I have been busy, and I have been struggling to come up with topic ideas. Someone had told me that, after posting for over 1,095 consecutive days, no one would notice if I reran a few posts. I was tempted as I thought about this post, but I don’t think it would impress legendary wrestler/coach, Dan Gable. I can, however, revisit (i.e., add to) my thoughts.
“There was no greater sin for a Gable wrestler than to be caught stalling — backing up, eating clock, not attacking and destroying — and once Gable even screamed at a ref to call it on his own guy.”—Wright Thompson*
As I wrote before, “many of us are stalling in life…, (however,) high performers in life (and wrestling) do not stall.” If you are stalling, we need to change our strategy. Moreover, we have to “wrestle”—in other words, engage in life.
I wrote: “We are wired for self-preservation. So, sometimes, stalling might seem reasonable. But, if one wants to be a high-achiever—a high-performer—one has to always be driving forward. To be (extra)ordinary, one must be pushing forward. One must always have the will to be on the attack.”
I am perhaps at a time when I am going through the motions—stalling, if you will. I make my commute to work, teach my classes, write exams, test exams and paper, and I go home. I work out and follow my nutritional plan. I am helping to coach the middle school wrestlers. I spend time with my wife and kids. I am busy, but I don’t feel like I am growing. I am not executing my growth plan. I can’t really say I am making great progress—Spiritually, Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, or Socially. Yes, I appear to be stalling.
I wrote: “Having a growth plan is a smart attack strategy. Approaching each day with a specific offensive strategy is the only option, if winning is to be a possibility. Stalling is running away. It is a position of weakness.”
Let this be my caution call. Time to move—to act. Time to take the offensive. Remember: “Stalling leads nowhere.” . Again, there are no defensive points in wrestling.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!
*Wright Thompson. The Losses of Dan Gable. ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved 12-3-2016 at http://www.espn.com/espn/featu