We often hear people say, “Don’t sweat the small things.” I say there is a place and time to sweat them. When we are practicing or preparing for something, we should sweat the details or the small stuff. I normally tell my players to focus on the details during practices so they don’t have to during the game.
You see, what happens when we concentrate on the details during practices, then tweak them, practice them again, then tweak them, then practice them again… we are so prepared for the game that we don’t have to think “small” during the game. When a defender cuts off our path to the basket, we have already practiced 3 alternative scenarios so in that moment, we don’t have to stop and think about what move we are going to make. Instead, we can step back, assess the overall situation, think big, and implement our overall strategy.
My wife reminded me of this concept recently. She is a member of the American Business Women’s Association (www.abwaopen.com), a “grow you” group that concentrates on developing women both personally and professionally. She recently led a fundraiser for her local Dallas league, and throughout that experience, she learned how to think small and big at the same time. During the six months she and her team developed the fundraiser, she had to think small. She had to have a plan B in case a speaker canceled, she had to write a script for the fundraiser inclusive of a timeline and cohesive message, and the list goes on and on.
The point is that these details were talked about consistently amongst all team members on an ongoing basis. There was transparency and there were common goals, but most importantly, there was detailed preparation. Then, when the day of the fundraiser finally arrived, she was able to think big. All of the details had been ironed out, so she was able to project manage, direct her team to complete tasks, handle last minute hiccups, and most importantly have fun and enjoy her hard work.
This is what thinking “small” allows us to do; find our joy in life. Think about it, if we pay detailed attention to our finances, we can give more money charitably and go on more vacations. If we sweat the small things when it comes to developing our business plans, we can grow exponentially as we have already laid the groundwork. As Blink 182 once said, “All the small things. True care.
Truth brings.” If we pay attention to the small things when they matter and show true care towards our preparation, we can live into our passion. And isn’t that what matters? Think about it…
Charlie Miller is an entrepreneur, public speaker, and master basketball trainer. He has owned his business, ATTACK Basketball Academy for 7 years and is passionate about mentoring the youth of today. You can contact him by email at charlie@attackbball.com.
