Last night was Super Bowl 51. I am still recovering. Game of a LIFETIME.
While I sip coffee in a quiet room and Google the highlights to make sure the whole experience wasn’t a dream, I thought I’d share my hazy thoughts.
In one of the pre-game interviews earlier in the week, I heard an exchange that stuck with me.
A reporter asked a player how he planned to keep his cool in such a high-stakes game. He responded,
“Don’t let the moment define you. You define the moment.”
What sage life advice.
If you watched the game, you know the Pats were down huge. It was not the first 3 quarters anyone expected. I’m sure it’s not how they thought the game would go.
Had they been defined by the moment, it would have seemed hopeless.
They came out flat. They didn’t make plays. The Falcons were hot. Defined by the moment, the Patriots were losers.
Defining the moment, they were fighters. Refusing to be defined by it, they were never losing that game, they were in the process of fighting to win.
And they won.
In life, we have the same options.
You can be defined by your circumstances. You can see who you are as where you are and what you’ve done. You can feel like a failure. You can forecast your past into your future and feel like it’s hopeless and you’ve lost already.
Or, you can define the moment. You can refuse to be defined by where you are or what you’ve done.
You can fight. You can define the journey as ongoing and your strength as increasing.
The choice is yours.
Do not let the moments define you. You define the moments.
Today, and every day, is filled with chances disguised as choices.
What will you do with yours?
I will move slowly and drink coffee. Go Pats. Proud to be a New England girl today!