The story is now legend of Vince Lombardi’s first practice session after his team suffered a significant loss. Players and coaches were wondering what area of their team would become the focus of the practice. Would it be the defense, the offense, running, passing or kicking? No, Lombardi said they were going to focus on the basics. He held a ball in his hand and said “gentlemen, this is a football”.
Sometimes we need to think about the basics that drive the circumstances surrounding us. It is often too easy to tinker with one particular aspect rather than getting back to basics. I believe that avoiding the basics is likely a habit we develop so that we can ignore the real cause and effect. While the effect is the outcome we now question, the cause is more difficult to find.
The good news is that we can get back to basics simply by taking a pause. Stop the frenzy of the day and reflect on how we got here. No need to over-analyze, but do peel back the layers of detail that might otherwise cloud our thinking. Get down to basics.
Is it a relationship issue? Could it be a problem with a perception or value judgment? Am I responsible? All tough questions; yet ones we must consider so that we can overcome the circumstance that has happened.
