These next several weeks are going to bring a very interesting juxtaposition of philosophies and their results.
In the next several days, the Denver Nuggets season will come to a close. They have been better this year, largely because the new staff has acknowledged the obvious and encouraged the team to run, while still understanding that they have to play good defense. It's a philosophical change that had to happen after a great streak of regular season success in the last decade that never amounted to playoff success. The book is still out on whether or not this young team can take this promising start and grow into something competitive, long-term. But, perhaps, for the first time in a while, the organization is actually thinking long-term.
The Colorado Avalanche season is also coming to a disappointing close in the next few days. What, only four weeks ago, looked like a sure-fire playoff run has turned into a strange and, in many ways, inexplicable fizzle into irrelevance. The strange part is that is seemed like the team had turned a corner just a couple years ago, with lots of talent, a good staff, and an administration that seems to have a plan. Unfortunately, something just wasn't there this year--;something in their mentality wouldn't allow them to close out big games or the season the way they needed to. There is still something missing.
At the same time, the Colorado Rockies are just starting their season. And, let's be honest--;they've probably already been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Doesn't seem to matter which players they bring in year after year, they just can't seem to put it all together. And, what's worse, is that every season, come about July, the organization seems just as puzzled as everyone else is about their failures.
And, then, there's the Denver Broncos. By the time this hits the papers, the Broncos might have pulled off a major trade, and gotten a former Super Bowl quarterback on the cheap. Or, maybe not. They may have a better plan for next year. And the next year. And the year after that.
See, what I think I've come to learn over the past five years of watching these teams, and the last twenty years of my life, is that there are people who spend all their time and energies dealing with primarily the little things in front of them. They go from moment to moment, managing their lives, and reacting to the things that happen to them. Then, there are people who sit back from the moments, take in the big picture, and guide the moments in a direction of their choosing. These are the chess masters, the people who always seem to be several steps ahead of everybody else. I would definitely put John Elway and the Denver Broncos in that category; the Nuggets and the Avalanche, perhaps, but not masters; and the Rockies are perpetual playing pong, it seems.
The beauty of the chess master is how effective that approach is in any realm of life --; business, politics, military, even family life. And I think it's really difficult, especially in the modern, plugged-in, 24-hour news cycle, social media world we live in. The "moments" come at you from every direction, all day long. But, there are people who manage it, who put away the little stuff that's intruding on their lives and focus on a strategic sense of where they're going. These are the leaders, the people of influence, and the makers of the future. And, by the way, the people who really tick you off when they out-maneuver you, which you usually only notice about a year too late.
If you've never played chess, I would encourage you to try it. And not to develop mastery, but to develop that unique mode of thinking. So the world doesn't seem to turn on you in July, every year, by surprise.
Michael Alcorn is a teacher and writer who lives in Arvada with his wife and three children. His novels are available at MichaelJAlcorn.com
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Playing-the-long-game-of-life,211023?branding=15
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