Sometimes, We Have To Just Take the "L"

While most of the football-watching world is focused on Tom Brady (bleh) and the Bucs Superbowl win, I've been thinking about the Chiefs.

How hard must it be to come that far, so close to your goal, and fail.

As the game slipped away from them last night, you could see the frustration, the outbursts, the disappointment. It all made sense. They fought hard to get to that point and they certainly showed up with a clear plan of action that they felt would lead to their desired result.

But they fell short.

What happens when we think we do everything right, but still fail?

We're left to wonder a lot of things. It's easy to place blame on others, to lash out, to think, and to feel that the circumstances were unfair.

But that never does change anything. That never does get us closer to where we need to go. It just wastes more time and more energy placing all of our control in the uncontrollable.

Tom Brady had 2 years in between (most) of his Super Bowl wins. He wasn't successful every single year. I could venture a pretty safe guess that those 2 years separating him from another Super Bowl win were spent problem-solving, working on weaknesses, learning from mistakes, and pushing to get better every single day.

He kept showing up until he was back on top. Again. And again. And again.

Of course, the Chiefs are probably doing the same thing. But obviously, this isn't really about football. It's about recognizing that sometimes despite our best efforts, shit just doesn't turn out how we think it will.

It's what we do next that matters most.

Hard work does pay off, but it might not always fit the timeline you've envisioned. Sometimes we need to reflect on our failures to find the right path. The one that will pay off.