Coach Ed Science
  • Home
  • Intro
  • PS (1-4)
  • PS (5-9)
  • PS (10-14)
  • PS (15-18)
  • PS (19-21)
  • Space Exploration
  • Warriors Hoops
  • Summer Basketball Camps
  • Flying Pumpkins, 2020
  • Literacy
  • #getBETTER Hoops at Home
  • Coach's Corner
  • NOVA Nation
  • Villa Drills
  • Improving Your Shooting
  • Footwork Drills
  • Bball Skills & Drills
  • USA Basketball Tips
  • Things to Ponder
  • Motivation
  • Sportsmanship
  • Thoughts from Paul Harvey
  • Cool Links & Games

Coach's Corner

“It never ceases to surprise me at the infinite capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of useful knowledge.”
- Thomas Raynesford Lounsbury

Helping Others

9/4/2017

0 Comments

 
Coach John Wooden used to say “You cannot have a perfect day without helping others with no thought of getting something in return.” Indeed, helping others puts a smile on our face and a spring in our step!

People with a “help others” mentality stand out more than ever in our me-focused, selfish culture. I’m sad to say that I can sometimes be so consumed with my own agenda and to-do’s that I’m completely oblivious to the needs of the people around me.

One of my favorite commercials shows how a simple act of kindness has a domino effect a it inspires onlookers to help others too. It reminds me that it doesn’t take much to make a big impact on an individual, a team or a community.

So what does it take to develop a “help others” mentality? Three simple suggestions:

Open your eyes: Become more observant. Notice the people and circumstances around you. Is someone approaching a door with a heavy load in tow? Did you just pass a broken down car and a woman walking with two small kids? Part of the joy of helping comes from responding before being asked.

Open your ears: Listen for clues. We are socialized to think that asking for help shows weakness, so many people may not ask directly, but will drop hints and hope someone picks up on them. Listen for statements like:

• “Why can't I seem to motivate that kid in the back of the class who won't turn in his work."

• “I wish I knew how to use that excel program on the computer.”

Make it a game: Win every day. Play your own version of Where’s Waldo to see if you can find at least one person each day to help. The only way to fight our natural bent toward selfishness is to intentionally focus elsewhere.
ows how a simple act of kindness has a domino effect a it inspires onlookers to help others too. It reminds me that it doesn’t take much to make a big impact on an individual, a team or a community.

So what does it take to develop a “help others” mentality? Three simple suggestions:

Open your eyes: Become more observant. Notice the people and circumstances around you. Is someone approaching a door with a heavy load in tow? Did you just pass a broken down car and a woman walking with two small kids? Part of the joy of helping comes from responding before being asked.

Open your ears: Listen for clues. We are socialized to think that asking for help shows weakness, so many people may not ask directly, but will drop hints and hope someone picks up on them. Listen for statements like:

• “I probably shouldn’t have booked such an early flight because no one will want to take me to the airport at that hour."

• “I wish I knew how to use that excel program on the computer.”

Make it a game: Win every day. Play your own version of Where’s Waldo to see if you can find at least one person each day to help. The only way to fight our natural bent toward selfishness is to intentionally focus elsewhere.
0 Comments

    Author

    Dave Edinger has been coaching basketball for 37 years at the high school, middle school. and international levels. As a head coach, his teams have won 572 games.

    Archives

    January 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed