I’ll be the first to agree with you, this year has challenged us to our core, and for some, in ways we’ve never been challenged previously. It’s upended generations of small business traditions, taken hundreds of thousands of lives right out from under us, and infused divisive rhetoric into our homes, causing us to question everything and everyone in our path. Now you’re probably thinking, “Wait, Tony, I thought this was supposed to be an UPLIFTING article. I’m more depressed now than when I started reading this stupid thing.” Fair, but that was my point. I want you to be feeling sorry for yourself—don’t worry, it gets better.
LINSANITY
A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to the ESPN podcast called Daily. It’s a 25 to 30-minute show of some well-produced sports goodness. On this day in particular, the episode happened to be about Jeremy Lin. Those of you who aren’t particularly interested in the NBA (myself included), stay with me here. While I really couldn’t care less about the NBA, I do remember Jeremey Lin, or “Linsanity” as he was referred to during his heyday—back in 2012 when he played for the New York Knicks. This episode was centered on the rise, fall, and eventual rise again of Lin’s colorful basketball career. Lin’s perspective on dealing with pain, struggle, and adversity is a perfect parallel for how we should move into 2021.
Lin was the beneficiary of a great deal of success during his post-college NBA run. He was on the right end of multiple 10+ million-dollar contracts, was featured as the comeback player of the year, made the cover of Time and Sports Illustrated, and even had the opportunity to play for the Championship-winning Toronto Raptors team in the 2019 season. While all of this sounds great, the way Lin explains this time in his life is very different than how it appears. His 2012 season with the Knicks was the only time he played what he calls, “Jeremy Lin basketball”. After that season, he started down a long path to rock bottom. He lost confidence in himself and his abilities, and he lost his mental fortitude, he lost his edge. He went from a player who once stood out for exuding confidence and raw unteachable talent to one who barely stood at all—taking most of his minutes from the bench.
The breaking point for Lin was after the 2019 championship season with the Raptors. He decided to step away from the NBA and instead play in China—to find himself again.
“When you try to shoot a shot, if you’re hoping and praying it’s gonna go in, you’re probably not gonna make that shot. If you shoot a shot and 100% know and believe it’s going in, it makes all the difference in your confidence and even the types of shots you’re willing to take.”
-Jeremy Lin
SHOOTING YOUR SHOT
When people face hard times and adversity, they tend to lose their edge in moments of weakness. Lin went from a player who always “believed” his shots would fall to one who “hoped” they might go in. Losing this edge, this confidence makes a bad situation worse. It takes a moment of clarity to challenge yourself to take a step back and actually BELIEVE in…yourself again. The parallels between Lin’s rollercoaster of a career and our current situation leading into 2021 are obvious. Let’s challenge ourselves to not focus on all of the bad that came from 2020 but use it as the wake-up call it represented. Use this year as the year that forced you to refocus. The year that challenged you to bet on yourself, and when times got tough, you didn’t fold—you doubled down. Lin commented about how he realized the last few years of his career he was “playing not to lose” and after his mental shift, he promised himself never to take that approach again. Moving forward, he was “only playing to win.” Small shift, powerful impact.
Let’s move into 2021 taking the good with the bad from 2020, but most importantly, let’s focus on the call to action this year really represents. For both personal and professional ventures, we are not often dealt a universal “reset” button and 2020 is as close as it gets to that reality. While focusing on the tangibles is important, whether that be going back to school, attending a new training, getting a new certification, the list goes on—don’t forget where the lion’s share of attention should be directed—your mental game. Use this as a reminder that when the new year rings in, that’s not an automatic “all is well, 2020 never happened” moment. 2020 DID happen, so let’s take it for what it was and allow it to be the springboard into intentional action moving into the new year.
ACTION
Whether you’re starting fresh out of college, you lost your job 15 years into a career and now you’re starting from scratch, maybe you went through a divorce, you lost a loved one or you just struggled through the overwhelming stress from the dumpster fire of change that this past year dealt, take time to focus on yourself. Believe in yourself again and what you have to offer. Make all the shots you take in 2021 and moving forward one’s where you KNOW they will land, leave the “hoping” and “wishing” in 2020 where it belongs.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and cheers to a new year!
Tony Paixão, CFE, CFI, is a Certified Forensic Interviewer, speaker and consultant for Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. (WZ). Tony has served in a variety of roles both in the public and private sectors. He is also an active member of the International Association of Interviewers (IAI). Tony has conducted investigations and interrogations for hundreds of cases ranging from retail fraud to homicide to sexual assault and employee relations matters.
