The Big Picture

As a youth basketball coach I sometimes get thoughtful emails from the Youth Recreation Director. It was a quote I am sure most of you have seen before, but it is worth repeating.

"In youth sports there are four possible jobs, players, coaches, spectators and referees. Players are there to play, coaches are there to coach, referees are there to officiate, and spectators are there to watch. If any one person is doing more than one job...we have a problem."

I was thinking about that quote last Monday night as I was heading up to the stands to watch my son play in his basketball game. I was there to do my job as a spectator. When a group of spectators were still in the stands preparing to leave, after a hard fought 6th grade game that ended in a one point differential. There had been a lot of drama in the stands during the game, but I had no idea that it would escalate the way it did. It was a group of parents that were trying to officiate, and coach from the stands. Some words were exchanged as we were walking up, a woman threw her drink on another parent, and it escalated like, the Jerry Springer show on steroids. Parents were yelling, cussing, punches were thrown, hair was pulled and it was an ugly situation. Our team was distracted while doing their warm-ups by the ugly display.

As the parents were leaving, I was left with the thought. Is all of this worth it? This is sixth grade basketball. Do these parents not see the affect they are having on all the people around them, do they not understand what it must be like to be their children? I am sure that each side felt justified in their actions, I am sure that they were sticking up for themselves and their kids, but I gotta believe that in the end they failed to focus on the Big Picture.

In every situation we are given choices. To look at the Big Picture, why are we here, what do I want to get out of this, and how do I want this experience to affect my life and all those who are close to me. The little picture is always filled with thoughts like, "I don't get mad, I get even." "It is dog eat dog." "You gotta fight fire with fire." My experience is that when we fight fire with fire we usually get a bigger fire. That is exactly what happens when we forget our purpose in anything we do. Whether it is watching a game, belonging to a team or organization, or working with our peers.

When we our purpose driven, we know why we are here, and what our intended result is in everything we do it becomes easy to let go of the little picture and focus on the BIG PICTURE.

That experience was a wake-up call for me, because I know that I have had my moments when I have lost my cool. As I look back, I am not judging them, but I am thankful for the opportunity to see how life can easily get out of hand when we are not BIG PICTURE thinkers. Do me a favor, take a moment today. Ask the question. What is my purpose, what do I really want to get out of my job, my family, my service to others. When we change our perspective, it becomes a little easier to let go of the little things and focus on what really matters.