Offense wins championships - and life.
How many times have you heard the phrase ‘Defense Wins Championships’? In most of my athletic career, this has been a staple saying I’ve heard from athletes and coaches of all levels. This mindset is misleading - in reality offense wins championships. Learn more about winning life.
Playing defense on defense is a great way to become a passive defender and get pegged in the face. When your mindset is to respond and react vs anticipate and be proactive, you will always be a second later than you could be. Playing offense on defense is what led players like Laura Ludwig to become iconic and game-changing defenders in the sport of beach volleyball. ‘One-balling’ in beach volleyball has long been a sign of an advanced player - someone who has such a good read on the other team that their defense literally turns into offense. The best defense is played by players who are on the attack. Players who look for opportunities. Players who create opportunities through planning and patience.
Playing defense on defense is a way to survive playing against a team that has a formidable offense. But surviving rarely means winning. Playing offense on defense is a sign of a team that’s playing high level, is extremely engaged in the game, and actively looking to take the win vs being handed the game.
What if you lived your life on offense? Always looking for ways to move forward. Always looking for opportunities. Always creating opportunities for yourself through planning and patience. What if you were always looking for ways to take the life you want vs hoping life hands you the life you always wanted? Thriving. Living your best life. Dreaming. The way to have the life you’ve always wanted is to live your life on offense.
Ways to start living your life on the attack:
Look for ways to move forward. The past is important. We need to understand our past to know our present. We need to know our present to begin to plan for our future. However, dwelling on the past is a guaranteed way to stay stuck. To thrive, you have to be willing to dive into the past for understanding and then leave your past behind to focus on building your future. In every situation you face in life, ask yourself: what can I do to use this to build the life I want for myself?
Find opportunities for learning. When shiz hits the fan in life there needs to be a moment where you let yourself feel and grieve. The most important thing you can do is after grieving, ask yourself - what did I learn from this? About myself? About what I want in life? About how I want to build my life?
Create opportunities. There’s a great story I’ve heard in my life about the fact that when you ask for help in life, it might not always look like what you think it looks like. If you’re drowning, life could hand you a lifeline to float, a friend to help you swim out, a rope to pull yourself out, or an energy drink to hang in there longer. The best way to live your life on offense is to look to create opportunities for the things that you want at every turn.
Know what you are working towards. In volleyball, you only have to win by 2 points. That means what you are working towards when playing defense is making sure that you are up by 2 at the end of the game. That means you don’t HAVE to earn EVERY point on defense. You don’t need a dig every time, an ace every time, a real point every time. You only need 2 at the RIGHT time. If you get clear on what you are working towards in life - what your goals and dreams are - it can give you clarity on what opportunities you need to jump on and which ones might not matter as much.
Plan and have patience. Hoping that the other team will throw a ball or two in your lap so you can take the game on defense is a very poor strategy to win at a high level. Instead, planning and waiting for the right moment to make a late move or a trick play can mean the difference between a win and a loss. Life is the same. Make plans and have the patience that you can’t always control the timeline. 2 steps forward and 1 step back is still moving forward!
To thrive in life, you have to be willing to take action. Passive living rarely leads to a full, fulfilling, and joy-filled life. In what ways can you start to live your life on offense? In what ways have you been living your life on defense?
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