Play Your Game

Play Your Game
By David Stoddard

I’ve been racking my brain for the past several weeks wondering just what in the world this column would be about. What’s the focus? What’s the common denominator within the columns that are already written and those to come? What will I have as a snack as I write them?

That last question usually leads to other distractions, but more on that another time.

The title, “In Search of Ourselves,” is the foundation. It’s about finding out who we are, what makes us tick, what we like, who we are, if we prefer paper or plastic and if we feel the designated hitter rule in baseball should be abolished.

But it’s more than that. It’s about living our lives and getting out of that so-called quiet desperation that we all, at one time or another, go through. It’s also about helping ourselves become the person we want to be. Reinventing ourselves to some extent, if you will.

With all that said, I wanted a simpler way of putting it. Plus shorter words would be nice so it could be memorable.

Then, thanks to Jim Belushi’s visit to the booth on Monday Night Football this week, it hit me.

Being the avid Chicago Bears fan he is, Belushi was asked what he thought was causing Bears quarterback Rex Grossman’s recent slump. He said he just needs to take his time, not rush so much and relax. Then, he added exactly what I was searching for. “He needs to play his game, not theirs.”

That’s what this is about. It’s about playing our game (whatever that means to each of us).

The firsts step is finding out who we are, who we want to become if that’s different, and do it without playing someone else’s game all the time.

I must admit from the start, this column will not answer any of those questions. Actually, it will probably add more questions than it answers. That’s where you come in.

You come up with your own objectives in this game of life. Since you get to come up with the answers (and additional questions), and you also get to make up the rules for your own game, you ultimately get to determine what it takes to win, what you will do to get there, and how you will know when you have succeeded.

So, to get you started, I have a question for you.

Are you ready to play YOUR game? Have you been playing for others too long? What would winning your game mean to you?

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David Stoddard is the Unmotivated Motivational Writer. Visit him online at http://www.djstoddard.net