We’ve all seen Coaches call timeout to ice a kicker. We’ve probably heard the home fans yelling at a visiting player, “Hope you don’t choke!” I once stood at the foul line and had a guy tell me “it’s gonna be hard to make those free throws with your hands around your neck”. I remember an NFL assistant who was caught on camera years ago making a choking gesture at an opponent. All this in the name of trying to heap on the pressure.
What’s the deal with pressure? A-Rod (along with his now-famous cousin) claims to have dabbled in drugs because he felt pressure to live up to his record-setting contract. Countless Coaches in all sports have been known to put in 20-hour work days in response to the pressure they feel to win. Even now, I’m feeling it just a little, as my most recent writing efforts earned a very tepid response. I want everything I do to be slamming good, and the posts I write for this blog are no exception.
Here are some of the unknowns for me: is pressure real or imagined? Or if it’s imagined does that make it real? (There’s a brain twister for you.) Should some athletes or Coaches be considered more “clutch” than others? Can pressure be healthy; can it make us perform better?
I sure don’t have the answers to all these questions, but here’s what I do know. If my circumstances bring about feelings that result in love, joy, peace, courage, etc. I will embrace them. Conversely, If I am in a situation that elicits fear, doubt, despair, or any of their relatives, I MUST reject those emotions. Easier said than done, no doubt. But if we read Matthew 11:28-29, 1 Peter 5:7 or one of hundreds of other verses, and learn to take them to heart, we really can find rest for our souls. When we understand that we can brim with confidence, not in our own abilities but in the power of our Lord (2 Corinthians 11:30). When our weakness opens the door for God’s strength, that’s the deal.
Of course, we’ll never get this perfectly right. But that’s not a good reason to stop growing and improving. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to call my cousin.
Slightly Obscure 80’s Lyric
I’m sure you’ll have some cosmic rationale
But here you are in the ninth
Two men out and three men on
Nowhere to look but inside
Where we all respond to
Pressure