Focus on the here and now

Last night’s Celtics-Lakers game was an incredible roller coaster ride, and a great lesson in focus and determination. From two minutes into the game and through the entire horrific first half it seemed as if we were watching the utter collapse of the Celtics. Nothing was working right – not their shots, not their defense, and certainly not the refereeing. The Lakers, meanwhile, looked locked and loaded. Their efficient ball handling and smooth floor moves seemed to have the Celtics’ heads spinning.

How Paul Pierce and crew managed to refocus, re-dedicate themselves to the game at hand, and find their purpose was an absolutely amazing thing to witness. That they actually won in the end – a 30-point reversal of fortune in 15 minutes of play – was icing on the cake to their astonishing turnaround effort.

Post-game, Paul Pierce said his advice to teammates was “don’t look at the score; just go out and compete.” And coach Doc Rivers said he and the team don’t think in terms of “how many more to win” but rather concentrate all their energy on winning the next one. That’s focus – and really good advice for many situations in life. Don’t sweat the peripheral stuff; deal with the immediate. Doesn’t mean you can’t have a larger game plan – just keep it in perspective.

Speaking of perspective, it seems Kobe Bryant has his own way of dealing with things, however less admirable. When asked at the post-game press conference what he and his team would do need to do to recover from the surprising loss, he basically said, “get roaring drunk and then go back to work.” Charming.