I, personally, have some philosophical differences with the reality of achieving “Perfect” because that something that seems to show randomly in the form of moments of brilliance.

We might see a sports team pull off a FLAWLESS execution of their strategy with a seemingly effortless performance . . . These are moments of a state of FLOW . . . everything clicks and goes right . . . synchronization at a very high level.

Sustaining that flow state is the real challenge because every new opponent or different day brings with it new challenges which are dead set on disrupting the flow.

So . . . we PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE! because we know that the better we can get at the fundamentals the less brain power we have to invest in “doing things right,” and we can shift our brain power towards strategy and mental and physical thoughness – stamina.

In practice, we want the “handling of the ball” to become a motor skill. As this skill increases, we can throw, catch, dribble, maneuver, and SHOOT to SCORE without thinking, and our mental work shifts to thinking ahead of the game . . . studying the opponent and learning how to anticipate where our teammates WILL be when we  release the ball rather than where they are now.

My daughter Allison and I enjoy playing Backgammon together. Allison is darned smart and tactical and has little fear nor reservations about doing whatever it takes to win the game. She’s always been “Spirited” and mentally tough, and I believe our Backgammon playing (which always includes plenty of trash talking) helps build this toughness.

Recently, we got new cell phones (Transferred Service to T-Mobile – a company that seems to be VERY focused on the fundamentals of their industry now with HUGE investment in improving their coverage areas and innovating through use of WIFI service) . . . Getting  a new cell phone is fun because we get to choose new apps . . . Allison and I thought it would be fun to get a Backgammon app, so we could PRACTICE solo when we’re not sitting across from each other.

5 days of practice . . . and we had a casual conversation about the fact that we are both consistently DESTROYING the “CPU player” at the highest level of play. It seems our years of playing each other has developed indomitable skill.

One thing I have noticed in the solo playing VS the computer is that, the more I play, the less frustrated I am when I goof and/or lose a game “because the computer cheated by giving itself more favorable rolls of the dice” . . .

On the soccer field, Coach Marmolejo calls these moments “unlucky” because he KNOWS that the skill is there. He KNOWS that in every practice, every players touches the ball HUNDREDS of times and HAS the skill necessary to win.

While we all always want to WIN, we must maintain the perspective that sometimes we won’t because of unlucky moments . . . There will be another game and another season.

And so it is for all of us here on Christmas Eve Eve . . . We might be reflecting on our “performance” in 2015 and pondering @ how we will improve our games in 2016.

Hate to break the news to you, but the real answer is:

PRACTICE more on the fundamentals!

I’m proud of all you have accomplished this year and I SO look forward to seeing you find many flow moments in the coming year.

Please . . . tell me a success story you pulled off in 2015?

Merry Christmas!

b

About Barry Owen

Residential Real Estate Principal Broker and Founder of Pareto Realty, LLC. Creating the quintessential real estate firm with emphasis on "Live, Work, & Play" balance . . . and a true Performance Oriented environment for Real Estate Professionals. Serving the Real estate needs of Home Buyers and Sellers in Middle Tennessee.