We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
This is the ninth in a series of posts in a book I am reading on my Philippines trip. It contains leadership insights from the most victorious team in sports history (winning percentage = 86% as of the writing of the book): The All Blacks, The New Zealand National Rugby Union Team.
“Pressure is expectation, scrutiny, and consequence… Under pressure your attention is either diverted on track. If you’re diverted, you and a negative emotional response and unhelpful behavior. That means you’re stuck. That means you’re overwhelmed. On the other hand, if your attention is on track you have situational awareness and you execute accurately. You are clear, you adapt and you overcome… Clearly, in any game played with the body, it’s the head that counts…
I think that anyone in our arena who looks at performance and looks at improvement… it’s all about state shift… and ensuring that you can get your head into a good place… The brain essentially has three parts — instinct, thinking, and emotion… Invariably under pressure it is the thinking that shuts down and that means you are relying on emotion and instinct and can no longer pick up the cues and information to make good decisions. If you become disconnected then you can focus on outcome and not task and the ability to make good decisions is compromised…”
Gilbert Enoka as quoted by James Kerr in Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business of Life (London: Constable, 2013) 111-115.
I’m approaching the ten year anniversary of these Daily Meditations. The first one went out on 27 June 2019. Why mention that this morning?
Keeping my mind focused daily on what God’s Word says linked to Christian generosity has helped me maintain “situational awareness” though many factors in life have swirled around me over that timeframe.
Cancer bills. Treatment fees. College tuition payments. So many other financial decisions along the way. Each one could tempt me to limit our living, giving, serving, and loving.
I’m convinced that Enoka describes how Apostle Paul stayed focused despite all the factors around him and all the pressure. He could stay focused because he kept one thing in view: Christ.
What about you? Are you focused on Christ?
When we are, we keep our head in the game of life. When we are not, we won’t exhibit Christian generosity. We will follow emotion and instinct and these factors will take us the way of the flesh every time.
If you want to keep your head in the game of life and maintain situational awareness linked to Christian generosity, read these daily posts so that your living, giving, serving, and loving stays focused.
I will do them for years to come because I want to run the race of life to the finish and win a prize. Stay focused. Run with me. The prize will be entering the joy of our Master, and that victory will be better than winning the Rugby World Cup.