Focus on the Present

The 2008 NBA Finals saw the re-birth of a long time rivalry between the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers.

It was an epic battle that saw the Celtics take an early 3 -1 lead in the best of 7 series.

During a media scrum just before game 5, LA Laker superstar, Kobe Bryant was fielding a series of questions.



One reporter asked whether or not he had plans of re-signing a new contract with the team at the conclusion of the season.

He looked at the reporter and said, "If I choose to answer that question, then I'm acknowledging that the season is over."

It's real easy to get caught up looking ahead at the road of doom and gloom as opposed to maintaining our focus on the present.

We seem to fall into this trap especially when things look bleak and abysmal with no end in sight.



In the case of Kobe and the Lakers, the chips were stacked against them:

•they were facing a Celtic team that had the best regular season record in the NBA;
•LA's star centre, Andrew Bynum was out with an injury; and
•the Celtics featured three great players in Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

So in some ways, you can see why reporters thought the season was over.

Does this change Kobe's approach to the game?

No.

You still play with purpose and have a clear focus on the present situation as opposed to looking ahead to what you think may happen.



Be in the present and don't worry about what happened yesterday or what you think might happen tomorrow.

Here are 3 things leaders can keep in mind as they are faced with the challenges of life.

Accept the past,focus on the present and not stress about the future.

It should be noted that the Lakers won the fifth game but eventually lost the Finals in game 6 to the Celtics.

In fact, the 39-point margin of victory was the largest ever in an NBA championship-clinching game.

(So it looks like the reporters were right, oh well)

Thanks for reading!

Audley
Where developing leaders is more than just a game.