As I stepped out of the shower today I looked in the mirror to admire my four-pack. 

Yes, four-pack.  I saw it for a change. 

Usually it’s covered by what used to be piles of pasta, insane amounts of ice cream, or bowls of buffet.

Don’t laugh.  It’s the best it gets at this point: “The food I want or fitness?”

My occasional four-pack used to be a six-pack. And, when I was a skinny kid it was probably an eight-pack, but as Will Ferrell tweeted recently a six-pack on a skinny kid doesn’t really count; it didn’t take any effort.

I had just thrown an interception. In my opinion, throwing an interception was letting my team down. I failed to complete the pass. I failed to help my teammate Madison. She could have caught a good pass, but I threw it where she couldn’t catch it. 

“Other Scott” happily grabbed it. 

“Other Scott” won the game’s MVP award, but I — this Scott — let my team down. I hate when I let my team down.

Fortunately, I was not alone.

“God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” 1

The Pro Bowl is the NFL’s version of an all-star game. Pro Bowl players are selected by votes from the coaches, players and fans, each of which count for a third of the votes. 

Choosing the best possible players doesn’t guarantee success.  Each player still has the responsibility to perform at his highest level in concert with his fellow teammates.

Game Planning

If you could choose a roster of friends would you have chosen someone like yourself? If you could game plan how you relate to your friends would you make the same choices that you have? If you could game plan how your friends related to you would you make the same choices that they do?

Football players cleaning out their lockers feel it.
Presidential hopefuls reviewing the debates feel it.
American Idols wannabes and coulda-beens feel it.

What is “it”?  Self- pity.  Self-doubt.  The curse of “if only.”

Don’t let self-pity take you down!

You are lovable even when your flaws are exposed.
You are capable even when you make mistakes.
You are worthwhile even when you’re struggling to believe it.

Somewhere there is someone that values you abilities.
Somewhere there is someone that sees your talents.
Somewhere there is someone that needs your skills.

Values are the things that are most important to us.  Yesterday I challenged you to consider your values and identify a Top 5.  Some of you even made yours public, thank you.

My Top 5 were Family, Friendship, Love, and Religious Beliefs, with Security edging out Peace and Self-Respect for the fifth spot. 1

With that in mind, I would like to think that my values would represent what I did with my time and money.  I’d like to say they do, but as often as my wife has teased me about “my mistress” — the laptop — I must confess to my misplaced priorities.

Two things change today,  mysilentscream gets a new look and so do I.

It’s my birthday & I have a new shirt.

His Life

While watching NFL Films “The Ray Lewis Coaching Tree” I was inspired.

When I watched I felt Ray Lewis’ passion.

His successes and his shortcomings were discussed.  He spent time in jail.  He works a violent job.  He seems self-centered.

As I watched I felt motivated to remember:
- Be careful with my passion, it can hurt people.
- Lead by example and raise the level of the people around you.
- Embrace what’s true and inspire others with it.

What Will Our Future Look Like?

For hundreds of athletes this is an exciting day. Today at “National Signing Day” young football players will reveal at which university they will transform from boys to men. Millions of dollars will be spent on indirectly paying young men to play football as a fundraiser for the university.

Fans of the chosen universities will celebrate at their good fortune. Hopes will rise for the winners and hopes will be ravaged for those left wondering what their favorite university will do without this or that teenager.

The Future Is Uncertain

Barack Obama wins. Tiger Woods cheats. Tim Tebow loses.

These three men are, like us, people.  They have friends and a family. They have hopes and dreams. They win and they lose, they succeed and fail. Why do we care about them. Why do we track their lives? Why did their names appear on virtually every news portal every day this week?

Why, because they are “celebrities.”

Fame

As a society one of our biggest problems is that we create “celebrities.” Celebrities, people whose lives and accomplishments we follow. We attribute celebrity status to and esteem them because of their success in their chosen field. Athletes become icons, actors become idols, musicians become magnified.