Lesson #10 – No matter how far you’ve come, always stay humble
If I had the time and the space, I would do my best to list all of the records that the New England Patriots and the individuals players have racked up this season. I can’t list them all, but I’ll list a few:
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Best Season Record – New England 16-0 (NFL Record)
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Most Points Scored in a Season – New England 589 (NFL Record)
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Most Valuable Player – Tom Brady
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Offensive Player of the Year – Tom Brady
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Coach of the Year – Bill Belichick
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NFL Executive of the Year – Scott Pioli, New England
I think you get the picture. But I think the coolest thing this team has created or sustained during this Pursuit of Perfection, is that they have stayed grounded and have not gotten big heads. They practice, study, play hard and they DO THEIR JOB. They’re showing that if you do what you need to do, everything will work out.
They have also maintained an attitude that they call a “Humble Pie Mentality”, and outside of scoring close to 600 points, this is probably one of the biggest reason why this team is on the verge of going 19-0, including another Super Bowl trophy. They even have a t-shirt that displays their Humble Pie mentality:
I love this attitude and have been incorporating it into my walk away from sexual addiction and toward sobriety.
Even though the Patriots are hands down the top team in the NFL, and even in the midst of all the records and accolades they receive, the team consistently reminds themselves of their mistakes, their misplays and their weakness. They do this after every wins so that the players do not become complacent and so that they are constantly motivated to do better, work harder and achieve greater. Also, by recalling their mistakes, and keeping them fresh and in the forefront of their mind, the players can work on them before another team tries to exploit them, which could lead to a loss.
This reminds me of a Proverb found in the Bible:
Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, but he who is of a humble spirit will obtain honor.
God said it Himself: if you become prideful and full of yourself, you’re gonna fall. But if you remain humble, you will be honored. In football terms: If you think your team is all that, you’re going to lose. But if you stay grounded and do your job, you’ll win games.
Listen, I am going to do my best to have this attitude everyday in my walk to sobriety. I’m in my 3rd or 4th relapse…I’ve actually lost count and I remember through all of them I ALWAYS thought that I made it, that I didn’t need to work hard and execute after 3 months, 6 months of sobriety because I’m no longer “sick”. I become prideful and boy did that lead to my fall. I was the EPITOME of Proverbs 29:23!!
Every time I fell, it was because I thought I had “attained” and I didn’t need to fight lust or temptation anymore. Silly isn’t it? But now, I understand that I have to fight hard against becoming prideful and complacent. If I don’t, I’m giving the devil a foothold to bring me down.
I also realized that just like in sports, or sales, you”re only as good as you last win or your last sale. That’s how people judge you. I look at my sobriety the same: “I’m only as good as my last sober day”. If I’m sober for 3 weeks, GREAT, I need to be sober one more day, and then, I have to be sober ONE MORE DAY after that! And so on. If I keep doing that, pretty soon, I’ll be sober for 3 more weeks, and so on.
Also, during my walk, I need to watch out for those weaknesses and triggers that will set me off and cause me to act out. If I work on fixing them and cut them out of my life, I’m confident I’ll be successful and sober.
Most of all, I need to watch out for my prideful ways and thoughts, lest I fall. Thanks New England for teaching me that I need to Be Humble or Get Humbled.
2 Comments
January 20, 2008 at 4:34 am
Great post. Thanks for the honesty and the lessons. Praying with you…
January 22, 2008 at 3:09 am
Thanks Mark. I hope you keep coming back to this blog. I’ll add comments to your blog as well.