More "Rules for Life" from The Season Never Ends

Today I'm sharing four more of Don Shelby's "rules for life" lessons from his book The Season Never Ends.  There are ten total.

Lesson Three: Losing is a part of winning,  No one likes to lose and no one should be asked to.  But there can be no wins unless somebody posts a loss.  Losses tell you something about yourself: primarily, how to improve.  Avoiding responsibility for one's role in a loss is self-defeating.  Blaming others destroys cooperation and lets us avoid the elemental truth that we all need improvement.  Accept responsibility and grow.

Lesson Four:  Games are won at practice.  Anyone who holds back his or her best until the pressure is on will lose.  Consistency derives from practice, confidence from preparation, instinct from repetition.  In order to be at your best under pressure you must prepare at game speed.

Lesson Five:  Control the tempo.  Knowing when to step up the pressure and when to slow it down is essential in both basketball and life.  It is almost always a mistake to increase the tempo of your game when forced into it by the opposition.  Answer pressure with calm.  Answer panic with levelheadedness.  Don't be forced to play someone else's game.  Play your own with confidence.

Lesson Six:  The best advice sometimes sounds like criticism.  No one likes to be singled out for criticism, especially in a crowd.  Our reaction is often anger and denial.  Usually, it is simply embarrassment.  Suffer it and then address the fault.  There is little growth until we figure out what we are doing wrong.  Sometimes we figure it out ourselves.  More often, someone else has to point it out for us.  Either way, use the information to grow.

More to come.....