Well it's that time of year again!

Brackets filled. Work blown off. Upsets. Buzzer beaters. Diaper Dandies. And a whole lot of gambling!

Though I don't follow the tournament near as much as I used to, there are still a few lessons to be learned. Whether you love basketball...hate it...or somewhere in between...I think this blog will offer a little guidance on navigating the madness on the court of life.

Intrigued? Read on.

1. Upsets Happen

Just because you're a highly seeded team (hello, Ohio State), it doesn't mean that you can't or won't be upset. In fact, upsets happen every...single...year. Though at times heartbreaking (depending on which team you favor), they are a part of the tournament. And you know what, it brings a lot more excitement. Think about how boring it would be if the higher seeded team won every game. You wouldn't even need to have the tournament. Just seed and be done with it.

The same is the case in life. Sometimes winners lose. And sometimes losers win....

Distracted much?

Ya, you're not alone!

In fact, I don't think you have to look too far to find an individual that admits struggling with relevant or sustained attention from time to time. And though certainly there can be biological/neurological/genetic reasons for this difficulty in focus that could warrant a psychological diagnosis of ADD/ADHD. For the majority of us, we are likely in a different camp. And that camp being a difficulty in concentrating that is a by-product of our environmental circumstances.

What do I mean by environmental circumstances?

Well a couple of things. First off, we have our social environment. And in today's society, there is no shortage of distracting shiny things. Whether it's social media, increased email, a 24/7 news cycle, push notifications, an endless rabbit hole of website/youtube/Netflix glory, and the plethroa of other distractions that a technologically advanced society throws at us, it is incredibly evident that our...

I imagine many of us have heard of a SWOT analysis (don't worry if you haven't, we will get into it today) and its application to thinking through business strategy. However, I believe it can also apply to one's own personal strategy when it comes to goal identification, pursuit, and completion.

The problem is that we usually don't apply such a rigorous framework to our personal goals as we do to the goals set forth in a company, team, or organization.

Why?

Well, maybe it feels like our ass is less on the line. There's a lesser feeling of accountability. Or frankly, we just don't think our personal goals require such an emphasized analysis.

Maybe that's the problem?

Let me start off by saying that we do NOT need to take ourselves or this process super seriously. At the end of the day, we are living life and as long as we're focusing on the important things (as discussed in the previous blog here) then everything else is icing on the cake.

However, getting better and...

It's a special time of year in the world of American football. The NFL playoffs are underway and the collegiate football national championship is this evening.

As a Brown's fan, obviously I am thrilled about their strong regular season, playoff birth, and unbelievable playoff win last night. And as a former football player and sport psychologist at Ohio State (and 2002 member of the national championship team), I am pumped, though not completely surprised, by their opportunity to compete for a national championship.

Which got me thinking...

A couple years ago I would have just been happy if the Browns had a record above .500. The goal at that time was to have, and survive, a decent regular season. That was enough to bring satisfaction.

Fast forward a couple years, and now, based on some strong regular seasons, there is an expectation and desire for the Browns to do more. Rather than simply having a good season, the focus now is to make it to the playoffs.

The Buckeyes on the...

Well it's only January 4th and already our desired New Year progress got derailed!

I'm right there with you!

Consistent social media posting, a weekly blog, daily exercise, and a cleaner, healthier diet all got F'd up while bringing in the New Year.

Now don't get me wrong, I had a great time overindulging a bit with my buddies down in South Florida. However, sometimes overindulging leads to underproducing. And underproducing leads to, you guessed it, F-ing up your goals.

So what is one to do?

Call it a year?

"Welp, I guess 2021 isn't going to be a good one either?"

Hell, no! You gotta right the ship! You gotta get the train back on the tracks!

Listen, 2021 has 365 days to get better and maybe you're off to a slow start. But that doesn't mean the next 360 have to be a wash.

Below are four tips to right a ship, that you feel is already sinking.

1. Pause

When things are off to a rough start it's very easy to get back into old habits and negative mindsets. We can actually spiral...

Well it's the moment that many of us have been waiting for...the final week of 2020. For all of us that has been reciting phrases such as "This has been the worst year ever" or "2021 has to be better than what 2020 was" now is the chance to right the ship.

But how?

First, we need a little reality check:

Covid Is Still Here.

By now we would have thought that Covid was long gone, but instead it's still here. Now of course we are hopeful about the arriving vaccines and such, but the reality is that there is still a virus floating around that is impacting people. Regardless of whether you think it's a big deal or it's a hoax, “something” is still around and it's impacting your life.

Mitigation Will Linger.

Even as we get the virus under control, the mitigation strategies we've grown annoyingly accustomed to will also likely stick around. Proof of negative covid tests, mask wearing, socially distant gatherings, plastic barriers, and yes, ZOOM, will likely be the norm...