Attitude is everything!

I have been competitive my whole life. I started in house leagues as a wee lad and soon developed a need for something more substantial, eventually moving up to the provincial level, where winning the game became more of a focus. I have always had the attitude that if they are going to keep score, you should do whatever is in your power to win.

Being a sports fan with all that sport offers, I have always gravitated toward amateur versions over the Pros. Having said that, I do have the utmost respect for Vince Lombardi of the NFL's Green Bay Packers, and his approach to competitions. Quite while back, my mother ... aka THE Super Shopper ... gave me the plaque at the left as a Christmas present, and I have displayed it proudly on the desks of my life since. I completely agree with Coach Lombardi's thoughts enshrined in the quote ... when a competitor gives everything he/she has, so much so that he/she collapses from the effort, the result is often victorious in nature. IMHO, the best part of the way the quote is worded, it leaves the actual definition of victorious open for interpretation, and could mean quite different things to different people. For me, it is the 100% effort that is key, not the total on the scoreboard.

I feel that I should admit that I hate to lose! 

However, I am able to accept being beat. 

For those reading this that don't have the benefit of competition experience, the difference boils down to the effort you extend. If you can truthfully be content that you did everything within your power to perform at your highest possible level, yet you come out on the short end of the score, IMHO, you should hold your chin high as you applaud the victory of your adversary. I have a personal bias against people who choose to involve themselves in competition, and for some inexplicable reason, do not do everything they can to be their best so they have a ready-made excuse if not successful. Call me unfair, but I have ZERO time for people who choose to behave this way.

This scenario plays out in the classroom too. I struggled all my life with students who choose to be unprepared just so they can have a ready-made excuse, "Well, I didn't try. That's why I failed." The difference between winning/achieving and losing/failing is so small that accepting the risk of competing really boils down to attitude and belief.

Along those lines, educators are always looking for new knowledge and techniques to enhance student learning. One of those that presented itself to me a number of years ago was proposed by Harvard's Dr John Ratey. In his highly successful book, "SPARK", he uses sound biological proof that activity, especially the kind that results in a raise in heart rate, activates the necessary regions in the frontal cortex for enhanced learning. My principal at the time, Russ Atkinson, embraced the research and brought it to us as a staff, where many of us digested the information and fell "hook, line and sinker" for the idea. The photo at the right is the group of Simcoe County teachers ... many that were from Central ... that gave up a week of their summer to travel to Eagle Hill Academy, a private school just outside of Boston, to fully immerse ourselves in the movement and knowledge. The proof was in the pudding! As a staff, we noted that over a 3 year period, academic improvement steadily increased in the classes led by teacher's who embraced SPARK. The students were generally happier and more confident. An unexpected bonus for the administration was the dramatic decline in suspensionable behaviours. All because we got them movin' and groovin' more regularly.

So, how are the Lombardi quote and SPARK connected? 

Both ideas are born out of the idea that attitude is everything. When you enter the "fight" with a can-do attitude, carry with you confidence that the task is achievable, you will be mentally prepared to give a best effort at succeeding, and the activity of preparing will permeate ideal neural conditions for that success. By accepting the possibility of failing because you do not yet possess sufficient levels to succeed, despite giving your very best effort, you will more often than not find that little extra was the difference-maker. We all can't be Olympic Champions or Nobel Laureates, but we can ensure that we are the best versions of ourselves possible, and that will allow for an infectious positivism that will be readily apparent to those around us. 

Like good old Vince says, "... his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear ... is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted in the field of battle ..."

So, what are you waiting for?

What have you got to lose? 

Not as much as you think!