Football

How Aaron Rodgers can Teach You to Succeed in Your Work

/ chicoinematt

Aaron Rodgers passed for 9.6 touchdowns per interception he had this season.

🤯🤯🤯

I’m not overly surprised by this stat as a Green Bay Packers fan.

But let’s look at the context of his achievement.

Rodgers faced adversity in 2020 like everyone else with the pandemic:

🏈 Uncertainty of work schedule

🏈 Lack of adequate preparation

🏈 Dealing with sudden changes

On top of that the Packers picked his apparent successor in the first round of the NFL draft.

The keys to his success are things transferable to any job:

🔷 Consistency in performance

🔷 Excellent communication with his boss (coach) and coworkers

🔷 Finding joy in work

🔷 Minimize major mistakes

How have you found work insights from the hobbies or entertainment you watch?

Thank you for sharing!

3 Reasons Why I Thought Purgatory was Basically Overtime in a Football Game

/ chicoinematt

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 26, 2017.

One of my favorite things to watch is to watch NFL football games. I even own a cheese head to don during Green Bay Packer games. Nothing in sports is more exciting than when a football game goes into overtime and for the first time in NFL history the 2017 Super Bowl went to overtime.

football overtime

 

 

 

 

 

Extra regulation is needed in instances where teams end the fourth quarter in a tie. Neither team played well enough to earn the victory or bad enough to lose the game. I used to have a similar mindset when it came to the doctrine of Purgatory. Let me give 3 reasons for why I had this limited view when it came to arguably one of the more intriguing teachings of the Catholic Church.

Legalistic Outlook of Right versus Wrong

I thought for the longest time that if you followed the law [i.e. the Commandments] and your good actions outweighed your bad actions than you were on your way to Heaven after death. I viewed God as a divine accountant who tallied up all the good and bad that we committed in this live and granted us purgatory as an extra period for instances of ties. 

Limited view of suffering

Until recently, I do not truly suffer much. I always thought that purgatory was a period of “time” after death whereby people got extra suffering to make up for the comforts they received in this earthly life. My view on this has since changed immensely. I came to learn that suffering has not only a redemptive, but a purgative quality to it.

On a quite practical level, my marriage and family life has schooled my in this topic. For example, my lack of patience especially during our children’s bedtime routine, causes me much suffering. Through prayer and spiritual guidance I learned that God is using my children to help me grow in the virtue of patience- and sometimes growing is painful!

learning from suffering

Learned More about the Saints

Until a few years ago, I did not know that St. Therese of Lisieux suffering from tuberculosis and that St. John Paul II’s mother died a mere month per his 9th birthday and his father passed away about 10 years later. And yet, there was something different about these two individuals and really all saints in general—their faith grew in spite of the suffering and loss experienced.

Looking at the lives of the canonized saints I became aware that purgatory is not something that needs to begin after our earthly death. Rather, for them it begins in time and space. Because of this purgatory does not need to be limited to an “extra period” given since we failed to achieve sanctity in this life. We can start the process to being SAINTS today!

Conclusion

I will continue to write how my journey toward a more Catholic understanding of purgatory has changed my life for the better in future posts. St. Maria Faustina saliently wrote, “Jesus says; ‘My daughter, I want to instruct you on how you are to rescue souls through sacrifice and prayer. You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone.”

catholic purgatory

Related Links

3 Childhood Experiences that Taught Me about Purgatory

Purgatory 101

Catholic Answers–Purgatory

Thank you for sharing!

3 Lessons Andy Reid Taught Us After His Super Bowl Win

/ chicoinematt

Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes

Whether you are a sports fan or not, this year’s Super Bowl offered us practical advice and hope. Here are three lessons you take away from the big game to help give your hope!

Patience pays off

Aristotle Patience Meme

It took Coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs 21 years to finally win the big game. Over two decades! He previously coached the Philadelphia Eagles where he has sustained excellence in the mid-2000s. His teams advanced to the NFC Championship (the game preceding the Super Bowl) in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Only on the fourth try did he actually make an appeared in the Super Bowl before losing to the New England Patriots.

I always have been a Reid fan. His steady and consistent work ethic always could be seem in his players.

Heart over Talent

Teamwork meme

According to best-selling author and optimist Simon Sinek, “The ability of a group of people to do remarkable things hinges on how well those people pull together as a team.” All the best talent in the world means nothing if egos cannot be set aside for a greater mission. Look at the hype of the uber-talented Cleveland Browns coming into the 2019 season.

Yes, this time Reid had the best quarterback in the NFL in Patrick Mahomes. But the word I heard most in the post-game interviews was heart. Heart. Passion. Drive. Perseverance. Call it what you want. It is a quality that puts yourself second and others first.

In his March 12, 2016 Jubilee audience, Pope Francis spoke of the meaning of true leadership. He declared,

“Love and charity, are service, helping others, serving others. There are many people who spend their lives in this way, in the service of others. … When you forget yourself and think of others, this is love! And with the washing of the feet the Lord teaches us to be servants, and above all, servants as He was a servant to us, for every one of us.”

Love the people you work with

Importance of work

Andy Reid exemplified love to the entire Kansas City organization. Not just in the Super Bowl win, but throughout his tenure. Sometimes people get cynical when it comes connections are made to sport figures and faith. Kobe Bryant’s death is a prime example. People aren’t perfect. Even larger than life stars. They suffer similar faults you and I do. Pride. Envy. Sloth. Lust. Anger. Greed. Gluttony.

The care and diligence he had for his players was evident. Tangible with his interactions. Hugs and handshakes galore. Credit deflected back onto his coaches and players.

In this case  of Andy Reid he put himself last. He served his assistant coaches, players, and fans. When the media asked players what the first thought ran through their minds when the clock reached 00:00, they all exclaimed, “Andy Reid!”

Andy Reid Super bowl meme

Questions for Reflection

What lessons did you take from the Super Bowl?

How does patience play a role in your success?

Let me know in the comments below.

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Thank you for reading and hope you have a blessed day!

Thank you for sharing!

3 Lessons from Super Bowl LII

/ chicoinematt

yogi_berra_quote

First uttered in 1973 during the National League Pennant race by baseball legend Yogi Berra, the phrase “it ain’t over till it’s over” is now a staple colloquialism in American society. Watching Super Bowl LII made me think of this saying over and over. After last season’s epic comeback by the New England Patriots [and major collapse on the part of the Atlanta Falcons] in American football’s biggest stage, nothing is truly surprising to me anymore in the world of sports. We should be prepared for the unexpected! Actually, that is what most of the world received as the clock waned done to 00:00 in Super Bowl LII—a largely unexpected victory of the Philadelphia Eagles over the celebrated, and seemingly invincible juggernaut that is Tom Brady. I want to share three lessons I took from this game and how a sporting event provided some perspective to my spiritual journey.

michael scott never give up.gif

  1. Never Give Up: Anyone who has played a sport, whether professionally or at the amateur level knows that the overcome of the game is not done until the closing minutes—or even the final play. Whenever my friends and I played a pick-up game of basketball or football to relieve the stress of finals testing, the games were heated and typically ended in a close score. The first lesson I learned from watching Super Bowl LII is to never give up. It is always worth fighting until the end.

 

St. Paul often uses sports terminology when referring to persistence in the journey of faith. He tells us in Acts 20:24, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Lessons from football, and other seemingly ordinary activities, can translate to the spiritual life. My time on this earth plane of existence is short, but the key is there is still time. God grants us time to have many chances at asking for forgiveness and bestowing mercy on others.

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  1. Be Bold: Another message I gathered from watching Super Bowl LII is that boldness pays off. Several times throughout the game the Eagles head coach decided to go for it on 4th Knowing he had to be gutsy in order to even have a shot beating an NFL dynasty like the Patriots, Doug Pederson, selected a trick play that may go down in football history as the most intrepid play ever—a direct snap to the running back, pitch to the tight end, and pass to the quarterback for a touchdown!

Possessing confidence in his team allowed for Eagles head coach Doug Pederson to boldly go where teams [aside from the New York Giants] went before—hoisting the Lombardi trophy in victory over the dynamic duo of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Such boldness captivated my attention along with the millions of other viewers of the Super Bowl. Bold and confident people attract others to themselves.

Saint Pope John Paul II was that type of individual. He once stated, “Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” His words relate directly to my life situation. Struggling with confidence within my new job, I act in hesitancy that hampers my ability for achieving greater heights. Ironically, playing things safe, both in my professional and spiritual life do not lead to successes. God does not want us to worry about things outside of our control. Witnessing the football game of the year showed me that some risks are worth taking.

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  1. Rely on Him Who Gives Us Everything: During the trophy presentation of the Lombardi Trophy and the Super Bowl LII MVP award, the excitement of the coaches and players possessed a unique quality this time around. Obviously, any sane person would be ecstatic after winning such a highly touted championship event, but the joy the Philadelphia Eagles displayed seemed a bit different from previous awards ceremonies. All of the major figures in the Eagles franchise: owner, coaches, and quarterback—all opened their speeches with specific praises to God.

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Listening to various post-game interviews I came across this video of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. His major message is to recognize our failures and look to God for stability in those tough times. We cling to God during the storms of life. Below is a link to this press conference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s7Ge7GkhO4

Nick Foles told reporters after the game, “I may be in the NFL. We may have just won the Super Bowl, but we still have daily struggles—I have daily struggles. But that is where my faith and family. When you look at a failure in your life it is an opportunity for your character to grow…I would not be out here [playing football] without God, without Jesus in my life.”  God seems to use normal, maybe even trivial stuff—like an NFL football game, to teach me about the importance of perseverance in the faith and cling to Him in time of need. In my daily struggles to grow in holiness, being a better parent, and a more loving neighbor to my fellow mankind I am grateful that God displayed Himself again to me through the ordinary example of a sporting event!

 

Thank you for sharing!