In honor of the start of the US Open, I thought I would share another life lesson from the game of tennis…

This recent tennis obsession of mine is proving to teach me more about myself than about the actual game.  I’m sure I’ll never be a tennis pro, but at least I’m learning something along the way.

I’ve been taking tennis lessons for a little over a year now and for most of that time we’ve been simply working on the fundamentals and building muscle memory for consistent hitting.  It’s just been recently that we’ve actually started to play for points and, well… let’s just say that any confidence I was developing went right back out the window.  It’s one thing to be able to consistently return a shot when you’re casually hitting.  It’s an entirely different deal when points are on the line and competition kicks in.  (And have I mentioned before that I’m a bit competitive?)

Here’s what I’ve realized: I play tennis much like I play the game of life – defensively and reactionary.

In my tennis game, I respond to hits coming to me rather than directing the course of play.  I react to what I’m given rather than creating shots that get my opponent moving and reacting.

In life, I tend to wait to see what is coming at me and then respond defensively rather than stepping out to take some risks and try new things.  I tend to be on guard, protecting what I know rather than pushing forward confidently to try new things.

As a result, I miss things.  I miss big wins.  I don’t anticipate well and I miss opportunities.  All because I’m waiting for the ball to come to me rather than directing the course of play.

I know that God has big dreams for me and yet too often I’m sitting around waiting for those opportunities to come directly to me rather than rushing the net and going after it.  I believe that God wants the best for us but I also believe He’s looking for a little intentionality on our part… a little risk… and a lot of faith.  There is no way that we can live like that if we’re waiting for the perfectly predictable shot.  Perfect, predictable, easy-to-return shots are few and far between.  You’ve got to lean in, get on your toes and anticipate where God’s leading you and go for it!

It’s been a LONG time since I did a Friday Fun post.  Here’s what’s happening:

• Going to breakfast with my husband to work on our plans for the England/Ireland trip (thanks for all your input!)
• Working on my content for The NINES Conference.  Have you registered yet?  It’s FREE!!
• Stupidly tried one of the Baywatch workouts on Exercise TV.  Baywatch – no further explanation needed!  Did you catch the word “stupid”?
• Continuing to read Fearless by Max Lucado – review coming Sept 8th
• Dinner with my wonderful sis tonight!  I feel like I never see her these days with her new job.
• Doing some homework on moving my blog to be self-hosted and doing a redesign.  We’ll see how that goes
• Will work in some tennis, both playing and watching the Western & Southern Masters

How’s your weekend shaping up?

Last week while we were in Las Vegas Merlyn and I decided to enjoy a bit of the great outdoors.  This is not uncommon.  Sight seeing often involves a bit of adventure for us.

On this trip we opted to tackle Turtlehead Peak at Red Rock Canyon.  Turtlehead Peak is a 2,000 foot mountain that you ascend at a pretty steep grade.  We had our work cut out for us in the triple digit temperatures, but we made it and enjoyed the beautiful view.

As I was climbing this peak I got to thinking about how at ease I was because I could clearly see my destination.  I haven’t spent much time in the West and so I found myself surprised by the barrenness of the dessert.  I’ve often heard that westerners get claustrophobic when they come to the South because everything is lush and hilly.  They can’t see where they need to go and it drives them crazy.  Growing up in the Midwest and spending most of my life in the South, I’m pretty accustomed to the foliage and a run through the lush, hilly parks around Nashville is soothing to me.

So as I’m processing this, attempting to distract myself from the mountain in front of me and the fact that I don’t appear to be getting to my destination as quickly as I’d hoped, I of course began to make my parallels to leadership.  You see in this case I was following along behind my husband and never questioned his leadership or direction.  I’d like to say that I never question his leadership and direction but, well… um… I’d be lying. Frankly, I’m not a good follower.  I like to be confident the leader knows where he is going and I’m not so quick to trust if I can’t see the destination for myself.  In this case, I could clearly see that the leader was on the right track.  Rewind to a Catron adventure a couple of years ago when we were lost in the woods of Tennessee and you wouldn’t have seen such a calm, compliant follower.

This whole deal got me thinking about how well I really follow the leaders in my life.  Yeah, it’s easy for me to get on board when I see a clear outcome and see the benefits in it for me, but how well do I follow and trust the vision/direction when the destination is not quite as clear?

I think there is a lesson in this for both the leader and the follower:

As the leader, what can you do to make the destination more clear for your team? Sure you might not be able to completely clear the way, remove all the obstacles and give a clear line of site, but perhaps you can articulate the path a little more clearly.

And as the follower, how can you develop greater trust and confidence in your leader? Do you need to ask a few more questions?  Can you talk more about what lies ahead?  Can you trust even when you can’t see?

Wimbledon Finals: Roger Federer def Andy Roddick
	Roger Federer (2) 5 7 7 3 16 Andy Roddick (6) 7 6 6 6 14

You knew I couldn’t not talk about it

Although I already knew the outcome of the match, I was glued to my DVR to see this incredible match play out.  The strength, stamina, focus and mental toughness of the greats of any game amaze me.

I think of…

Michael Jordan

Tiger Woods

Lance Armstrong

Roger Federer

Arguably some of the best players of all time in their respective sports.

Here are some things that I think make them great:

• discipline
• mental toughness
• composure
• focus
• confidence
• strength under pressure

Who would you add to the list of greats?

What makes them great?

I’ve become a little obsessed. Every night this week I’ve been watching highlights and matches from the opening week of Wimbledon.  And you can bet I’ll be glued to it this week too.  In fact I just discovered the Wimbledon iphone app.  Now I’ll have scores and highlights at my finger tips.  Good thing it’s a short week at work…

I’ve always been a fan of tennis but since I started taking lessons a year ago, my obsession has grown.  The more I understand about the game, the more appreciation and respect I have for the players and what it takes to be the leaders of the sport.

Isn’t this true about other areas of life?

The more we know and understand about someone else’s “game” – their role, responsibilities, challenges, etc - the more compassion we have and the greater our appreciation is for their accomplishments.

As someone who aspires to be a great leader, I find myself more and more sympathetic to other leaders as I learn and grow in my leadership.  I can remember being in my early 20′s and questioning the decisions and actions of my leaders.  Only now being in a similar role with greater responsibilities do I truly understand the pressure of the game they were in.

I could elaborate on this thought, but I won’t for now.  There’s another match for me to watch.

But seriously, where in life have you developed more respect and compassion for someone else because you gained a greater understanding of what it takes to be in their shoes?

This morning I participated in Ellie’s Run for Africa, a cross-country 5K race to raise money for families and children in Africa.  The founder, Ellie, birthed this dream at the young age of 10.  It’s inspiring to watch the impact she is making!

This morning Ellie prayed for us and cheered us on as we ran.  I couldn’t help but be moved by the compassion and leadership of this young girl!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxvQQRfIRxs&feature=related]

(This video is a couple of years old but it gives you a chance to hear Ellie’s heart and dream for Africa.)

The motto of Ellie’s Run is “Dream Big, Take Action.”

What dream has God given you?  It’s time to take action!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORA2TX3fF90&feature=related]

If you watched the French Open Men’s Final yesterday, you likely saw the crazy fan that leaped over the stands and onto the courts to taunt Roger Federer.  As a spectator it’s easy to watch that, kind of chuckle and then cheer as security tackled him and hauled him off the court.  But I couldn’t help but put myself in Roger’s shoes.  Here I am playing the match of my life and some lunatic springs out on the court after me.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not so sure I would have acted so cool, and collected myself so quickly.

The Power of Focus – it’s what separates the winners from the losers, the good from the great.  Focus can make or break you.

This little episode from yesterday’s match reminded me of how easily I get distracted by the taunts, the criticism, the temptations and the distractions in my life.  There are so many things that are vying to pull me away from the calling and mission God has given me.  How am I reacting to these distractions?  Can I shake it off and refocus on “my game” or do I throw in the towel and give up the match?

How about you?  What’s distracting you from your calling or purpose?

Last week I wrote a post entitled “Pick Up the Pace” where I likened my leadership growth to my tennis game.  I loved the analogy so much I’ve continued to process it.  Here are some more of my thoughts:

**********************

When my tennis coach forces me to pick up the pace, I’ve discovered that I become laser focused.  I’m no longer thinking or worrying about whether the players on the other courts are watching me and noticing all my errors, I’m no longer worried about what I’m wearing and whether I’m sweating profusely, and I’m not watching the clock.  Nope.  All of these things that have a tendency to distract me are no longer an issue because I HAVE to focus.  At this pace it’s no longer an option to be distracted.  I’m concerned about my opponent, the ball and my racket – that’s it!  And that’s enough.  Because quite honestly I don’t think my capacity has really increased.  I wish I could say that I’ve transformed into Serena Williams, but I haven’t.

I’m still me with my capacity…

…and in order to operate at this pace of play I have to focus.

And if I focus, I am better… at what’s most important.

What’s important to me has been redefined.  Increased pace challenges me to focus on the things that really matter.  And if I’m on that court, the only things that really matter are what’s happening on that court.

Are you seeing the parallel?  What’s on your leadership court these days?  What do you need to focus on?  What do you need to block out from the sidelines?

As leaders we have a tendency to want to do it all.  And oftentimes we think we should be able to do it all.  But we are setting ourselves up for exhaustion and burnout.  Yes, your pace is going to pick up, but you’ll only be able to maintain that if you learn to be laser focused.

TENNIS!  (you thought I was going to say Roger, didn’t you?)

I’ve developed a true love for this sport!  I’ve been a casual fan for years, ever since I played one year of high school tennis.  I had never picked up a racket, but my best friend convinced me to join the team and so I gave it a shot.  Admittedly, I think I kind of liked the idea of a sport I could play in a skirt!

A couple of months ago I decided I wanted to get serious about really learning to play so I asked a dear friend for some recommendations on taking lessons.  The next thing I know I’m hooked up with one of the best pros in Nashville and taking lessons nearly every Saturday!  (Dear Friend, you know who you are… thank you!)

So now that I’m learning the fundamentals and getting some game, I’ve found that I’m becoming the sports fanatic in our house (and those of you that know my husband know that this is no small thing!)  I’ve been glued to the US Open for the last couple of weeks and enjoyed watching the men’s final tonight between Roger Federer and Andy Murray.  So happy about the win for Federer, but honestly I was hoping for a bit livelier match.

The official season may be ending, but watch out – I’ll still be hitting the courts!

What’s your sports obsession?