Will the Moment Define you?

March Madness is upon us! What a glorious time of year it is for college basketball fans! Without a doubt, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is a great sporting event. As I write this, teams are punching their tickets for the Sweet Sixteen. This past weekend I watched game after game and witnessed countless critical moments. I'm talking about that split second of the game where the momentum shifts in the favor of a team. In these moments one team's spirit soars while the other team's will is broken. 

A definitive moment occurred towards the end of the Gonzaga victory over Northwestern in their second round matchup. Northwestern was fighting back from what had been a huge deficit. A Northwestern player's shot was blocked by what appeared to be a clear goal tending/basket interference violation. The basket should have counted. The referee missed the call. The Northwestern coach, Chris Collins, came out into the court to argue the call and was immediately issued a technical foul. This was a huge momentum shift back in Gonzaga's favor. That was the split second that determined the game. What could have been a three point game with just a few minutes to play turned into a seven point lead and ultimately a six point victory for Gonzaga. 

In every game there will be key moments like this. I believe the lesson here is that we cannot always control what happens to us, we can only control our reaction. Danny Bauer says regularly on his podcast that life is 90% what happens to us and 10% how we react to it. Regardless of what you do each day, you will face challenges. Life isn't always easy. We must not let our emotions influence our reactions in a negative way. We will not always win. The ball will not always bounce in our direction. Our job is to focus on what we can control. We should react to adversity with positivity and a smile. 99.9% of the problems that walk into our door can be solved. Sometimes educators can be quick to hit the panic button, overreact, and not embrace challenges with a positive mindset. Maintain the necessary discipline to stay focused and approach adversity with a "can do" attitude, not "why me." Don't let the moment define you. You define the moment.