Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 257 - Questions to Ask Yourself


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 5	Issue 257
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QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF What follows in italics is the second half of a very thought provoking article entitled Need One Know Why written by Coach Wooden in 1976 for Medalist Sports Publications. I wondered why -- -is it so difficult to realize, at times, that nothing we can do will change the past, and the only way to affect the future is by what we do now. -is it that it is so much easier to give others blame than it is to give them credit. -is it that many who are quick to make suggestions find it difficult to make decisions. -don't we realize that others are certain to listen to us if we first listen to them. -aren’t we more interested in finding the best way rather than having our own way. -is it so difficult to develop the feeling that those working under our supervision are working with us and not for us. -is it much easier to be a critic than a model. -is it so hard to disagree without being disagreeable. -can't we understand that all progress comes through change even though all change may not be progress. -is it that we often forget that big things are accomplished only by the perfection of minor details. -do we dread adversity so much, when facing it is the only way to become stronger. -can't we motivate ourselves when we know that results come through motivation. -is it that some seem ashamed to let others know that they pray or read the Bible. -should it be difficult to give thanks, express thanks, or merely say, “thank you”. -can't we have patience and expect good things to take time. -it is so easy to be quick to judge when processed of only a few facts. -is it that it is so easy to see the faults of others and so difficult to see our own. I certainly do not have the answer for these questions, but I feel that the more I am aware of the fact that they do exist, the better chance I will have to face up to and make them less of a problem. Coach Wooden used these thoughts to evaluate himself and improve; not to be critical of others. You and I will benefit the most from this article if we do likewise. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Twitter: @woodenswisdom	COACH'S Favorite Poetry AND PROSE Song of Life The Roman statesman Seneca wrote that wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for a kindness. No selfless act is insignificant. A traveler on a dusty road Strewed acorns on the lea; And one took root and sprouted up, And grew into a tree. Love sought its shade at evening time, To breathe its early vows; And Age was pleased, in heights of noon, To bask beneath its boughs. The dormouse loved its dangling twigs, The birds sweet music bore, It stood a glory in its place, A blessing evermore. A little spring had lost its way Amid the grass and fern; A passing stranger scooped a well Where weary men might turn. He walled it in, and hung with care A ladle on the brink; He thought not of the deed he did, But judged that Toil might drink. He passed again; and lo! the well, By summer never dried, Had cooled ten thousand parched tongues, And saved a life beside. A nameless man, amid the crowd That thronged the daily mart, Let fall a word of hope and love, Unstudied from the heart. A whisper of the tumult thrown, A transitory breath, It raised a brother from the dust, It saved a soul from death. 0 germ! 0 fount! 0 word of love! 0 thought at random cast! Ye were but little at the first, But mighty at the last. Charles MacKay
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