Los Angeles Clipper basketball player Norman Powell is achieving greater success on the court (and soaring to new heights!) and becoming more valuable to his team by accepting what he can’t control and focusing on what he can, which is to say, embracing acceptance.
An ambitious, talented, and hardworking athlete, with high hopes of becoming a regular starter and making the all-stars this season, a disappointed Powell found himself playing fewer minutes due to the presence of four future hall of famers on his team.
Powell had long struggled with the emotional turmoil that came with not accepting what he couldn’t control. In a January 3, 2024 article in the Los Angeles Times, he shares:
“I found myself looking back like, beating my head against the wall, being upset that I’m not where I feel like I should be or where I can be or where I know I am, fighting against myself, or fighting against what the situation is and trying to change it.”
That all changed when Powell began embracing acceptance “of things I can’t control and controlling things that I can….This year the way the team is constructed….I’ve been taking a step back and not being so upset that my role isn’t going to be where I would like it to be, or what I want it to be or how I view myself, and accepting how the team is built, what the team is looking for, and what we have to do to win.”
By embracing his new role and accepting “what is,” Powell is enjoying the gifts of acceptance. He is setting career bests in his three-point shooting percentage and playing a key role in crucial fourth quarter minutes that usually decide games.
Powell’s story confirms again that “accepting what is lets you discover what might be.”
As we begin a new year, there’s no better time in which to commit to practicing acceptance of people and things as they are and enjoy the many gifts that follow, not only in our athletic endeavors, but in all our life currents. To help get started, here are some acceptance intentions to consider.
In the meantime, remember to
“Let it Go—and Accept “What Is!”
Danny
*If you found this post helpful, please “like” it on your Facebook Page and share it with others.
SPECIAL OFFER! Receive a special pre-order discount price for the ebook version of the new book I am writing, The Way of The Wave: Nature’s Model for Navigating Life’s Currents. Just download the free Ebook, “Acceptance in The Time of Covid-19”, on the book order page so that I will have your email address to let you know when the book is published.