I don’t know how many of you have watched hockey lately. There’s a bit of a big final going on now. My apologies if you live in a country where people don’t go absolutely crazy over adult men dressing up in funny costumes with padding in all the right places. These adults (sic) strap metal blades to the bottom of their feet and race around on ice chasing a small rubber disc with curved sticks. I know, it makes about as much sense to you as the Indian commentator during the World Cup cricket final does to me.
Anyway…. my team at least for the playoffs are the Canucks. They would be my team the rest of the year but I only watch hockey during the playoffs. It’s a deal I made with my wife when we first got married. Long story…
So last night the Canucks got roasted by the Bruins. They lost 8 to 1. A dreadful showing. However, that’s not the main thing. In the Stanley Cup finals, the winner is the team who wins the most games, not gets the most goals. A small but incredibly important distinction. The Bruins could win the game 100 to 1 and still not win the cup if they don’t win the most games. Goals only count in one game.
To me that raises an important question about life. How often do we focus on the wrong score?
I remember hearing a story about a young couple and their son riding his swing in the back yard. Every time, he swung over the ground he would drag his feet and tear a little of the grass. His dad was pushing, the son was laughing and they were enjoying the moment. All of a sudden mom yelled at the boy to lift his feet because he was ruining the grass. The dad stopped for a moment, walked over to his wife and held her in his arms. He whispered in her ear, ‘sweetheart, we’re not raising grass, we’re raising a son’. Perspective strikes again!
We all probably realize that winning is important, but you’ve gotta win at the things that count. How does that play out in your life? I know that I have to remind myself that somethings just aren’t that important. I almost always win when I shrug off the unimportant concessions so I can focus on the important battles. Is there a time when you focussed on the wrong thing and lost? How about a time when realizing what was important made you a winner?
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