The Little Things

"If you take care of the little things, you never have one big thing to worry about." - Cal Ripken Jr.--from his book "Get in the Game."

When you do the little things right, everything else seems to take care of itself. Too often we as people worry and worry about all of the big things in life. We worry so much that we let every minute of every day be filled with worrying about what the next big obstacle is that we will be facing. Well, as the old saying goes, "Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere." Why don't we, instead of worrying about all the big things in life, simply take care of the little things and let the rest take care of itself. No one ever really worries about the little things, but often times people are so worried with the big things that they don't take the time to do the little things right. What we don't realize is that by doing the little things, and doing them right, we take worrying out of the big things.

In sports people are too often thinking about the big plays. the home runs, the diving catches, the buzzer beating shots, etc. Why don't we instead worry about hitting the ball solid, making the routine play, and making the lay-ups and free throws. If we can make those parts of our game clean and crisp then the big plays will come, but they are few and far between. The little plays happen much more often. Instead of the hole in one why don't we put more of our focus on the two foot putt. You don't see anyone get onto the guy that misses the half court shot at the end of the game, but the guy who misses the lay-up with the clock winding down won't ever hear the end of it. Learn to make the routine play and you will subconsciously be preparing yourself for the extra ordinary one.

"One day during practice, a visitor observed Coach (Paul "Bear") Bryant doing something that aroused his curiosity. From time to time during practice, the coach would reach into his pocket, pull out a crumbled little piece of paper, read it, and then put it back in his pocket. The visitor watched him do this several times during practice, and finally mustered up the courage to ask the coach what was written on the paper. Coach Bryant simply smiled, pulled out the paper, and let the visitor read it himself. It said: It's the itty bitty, teeny tiny things that get you beat."- An excerpt from the book "Real Dream Teams" by Bob Fisher and Bo Thomas.