Heaving the Ball in Desperation

I was sitting comfortably in a camp chair watching my son’s flag football team get absolutely destroyed by their opponents.

Why?

Because they threw six interceptions in one game.

That’s not so great. And definitely not a formula for winning American football.

His team was missing their two starting quarterbacks so a bunch of different kids were trying the position.

Yes, including my son.

And they all threw interceptions.

Yes, including my son.

And they lost. By a lot.

I’m not saying this to be critical. They are nine and ten year old kids, and they are still learning. 

And as long as my son is having fun and trying his best, I’m fine with the outcome.

I did notice something interesting though: Most of the interceptions came when the other team blitzed (had a defender charge in at the quarterback).

This made the quarterback panic and just heave the ball up in desperation towards a receiver. 

This resulted in the ball floating in the air longer than usual, giving the defenders time to move in and catch it. Boom! interception.

This got me thinking: Doesn’t this happen to all of us?

How often do we, as adults and professionals, feel stress and pressure, and as a result take some action in desperation (i.e., “heave a pass”) that ends up not only not working, but actually makes the situation worse?

• Because of pressure you snap a sharp, “yes, but” at someone to save time. But it ends up hurting the relationship and costs you more time to fix later.
• You’re under stress so you say “yes, but” to self-care like exercise, or spending time with family and friends, which only adds to your stress and problems in the long term.
• Feeling overwhelmed by change and responsibilities, you reflexively say “yes, but” to new opportunities, which keeps you stuck in your current situation.

Pressure, stress, and change are a part of the process, whether on a flag football field or in life. 

How you respond to that stress and whether it makes your life easier and better or harder and more difficult is up to you.

As we saw in last week’s post, developing a “yes, and” habit can help avoid the level of stress and desperation that leads to heaving the ball. Give it a try before you hit that level of overwhelm, so that you have a chance to make it a habit before you need it!

If you, your team, or your organization could use some help dealing with stress, overwhelm, and burnout that leads to these kinds of “heave the ball in desperation” moments, let’s talk!