Things that make you go hmm …
Former Oklahoma women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale made my list of ‘mic drop moments’ for April. — Oklahoman.com photo
Have you heard or read something so profound, so moving, so thought-provoking that you just had to.
Yes, stop. Abruptly. Just like the sentence above.
You know what I mean, right? If not, here are a couple clues:
C&C Music Factory once sang about them.
Arsenio Hall got busy with them every weeknight during the ’90s.
Yep, you got it:
“Things that make you go hmm.”
You’re breezing through an article and … WHAM! You’re listening to a podcast and you hit the rewind button. Three times. You’re talking with a friend and they convey a thought. “Man, that was GOOD. Say that again.”
While April 2021 might be best remembered for the spring snow showers we endured, something else will stick with me long after the calendar flips to May this weekend: a deluge of “mic drop moments” that stopped me in my tracks.
They’re so good, so inspiring, that I want to share them today. My litmus test for a “mic drop moment” is pretty simple: It makes me think. It makes me grateful. It moves me to tears. It makes me want to be a better man.
Just as important, it needs no further clarification or explanation. The thought alone is enough to satisfy. Or make me really uncomfortable.
Remember those hot summer afternoons when nothing quenched your thirst quite like the neighbor’s garden hose? I pray these will refresh your spirit in that same way.
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Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens was once asked, “How do you change the undesired behavior of someone on your team whose standard is below the line?”
Stevens responded, “I rebound for them.”
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The American Psychological Association once invited William James to give a talk on the first 50 years of psychology research.
He walked to the lectern and simply said: “People by and large become what they think of themselves.”
Then, he left.
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Performance Psychologist Jim Loehr on the influence of coaches and teachers on children:
“The voice you give to them, every day you speak to them, will one day become the voice inside their heads. Ask yourself, ‘Is that the voice you really want them to have in their heads until they die?’ Most of us have no clue about the enormous power we wield in the lives of young people.”
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Alabama football coach Nick Saban on how he prepares his players for the NFL Draft:
“I ask them all the time, ‘How will you create value for yourself? Are you an ‘and’ or a ‘but’ guy? When people talk about you, whatever comes behind ‘and’ is usually good. He’s a great player and … Whatever comes after ‘but’ is usually bad. He’s a great player, but … . Be an ‘and’ guy.”
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ESPN commentator Gene Chizik on the amount of time we focus on vanity each day:
“Work on things that feed your spirit, not your ego.”
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Writer Scott Hubbard, weighing in on how our default is to grumble and complain:
“Every decision to grumble is a decision not to pray, not to pour out our hearts before God, not to draw near to his powerful throne of grace. Likewise, every decision to pray is a decision not to grumble.”
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Psychologist Pippa Grange on how most of us REALLY travel through life:
“Are you living life or performing life? I personally feel we’re performing a lot of the time because we feel the need to be seen in a particular way so that we’re good enough.”
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Author Adam Grant on how to get better feedback from supervisors or colleagues:
“When people hesitate to give honest feedback on an idea, draft, or performance, I ask for a 0-10 score. No one ever says 10. Then I ask how I can get closer to a 10. It motivates them to start coaching me — and motivates me to be coachable. I want to learn how to close the gap.”
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Trying to resolve conflict in a one-on-one meeting? Author Kate Leavell Conord suggests starting with this:
“Here’s what I could have done better and will learn from for the next time. How about you?”
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And former Oklahoma women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale, who retired earlier this month after 25 years in that role:
“For about two decades, I had a picture in my bathroom. It was a couple of kids playing in a pile of leaves, and across the bottom was a quote by Annie Dillard. It said simply, ‘How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.’ ”
Hmm.
(Tim Kolodziej is the author of this piece and founder of EnspireU.com. When he’s not behind a laptop, he can be found inside a gym helping young athletes create their own unique future — one rep at a time. Click here to connect with him by email.)