This week I’ve been pondering what can be learned from two big sports meltdowns that happened in the last week: MSU’s upset football loss to CMU, and Serna Williams’ penalty-point ouster from the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
I think the big lesson is that lots of little mistakes can put you in the position where one more mistake becomes disastrous rather than inconsequential.
In the case of the football game, how did the Spartans allow themselves to be sunk by an improbably-recovered onside kick and subsequent game-winning field goal? They should never have found themselves in that position, but a game-long series of bad penalties, missed tackles and errant passes (i.e. mistakes) made them highly vulnerable to the improbable events at the end of the game.
Similarly, Serena Williams found herself in a tight match, had earned a warning earlier in the match for smashing her racquet, got behind in the last game, and so, when the very improbable happened (a foot fault) she made the additional mistake of losing her temper, screaming profanities at the judge and being assessed another point that lost her the match. Had she been well-ahead in the match, or if she hadn’t been on the judge’s bad side for smashing her racquet, she could have survived the penalty point.
So, since all of us obviously can’t avoid making mistakes from time-to-time, maybe the takeaway from all this is to avoid making a series of continuous mistakes – stop yourself before they get out of control. That helps you avoid getting into in a position – whether it’s in sports, financial or personal relationships – where a mistake turns into an irretrievable disaster.
Finally – when the coach says “be sure not to jump offside on this kick”, try extra hard to remember not to jump offside. And don’t smash your racquet.
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