LESSON FROM THE WORLD OF TV GAME SHOWS

I was watching “Wheel of Fortune recently with my dad and we couldn’t help but feel sorry for one of the contestants on that night’s show.  In one puzzle this guy landed on the Million Dollar space ( which of course is only good if you make it to the  Final Puzzle AND solve it) but still pretty exciting. Next spin he lands on bankrupt.

Next puzzle he landed on the $3500 space, called T – there were two and he’s now got  $7000 riding on this puzzle.  Spins again and lands on bankrupt.

By now you could see he was starting to feel stressed as the other players were racking up big bucks. So what happens next spin?  He lands once more a big money, and calls “N.”  Normally a good call except that on this puzzle N had already been called.  This fellow’s stress got the best of him and distracted his focus. 

You could just see him still replaying those bankrupts in his mind, stuck in previous puzzles when the money depended on being fully focused in the present moment!

I similarly noticed a post player with whom I was working who allowed a passed ball to slip out of his hands. Two possessions later the very same thing happened again. So it was hardly a surprise that at the other end of the court he missed his defensive assignment and allowed his opponent to score on him.

Mistakes and mis-steps have a way of staying with us. Devoting effort to strengthing our mental ability to quickly and effectively let go and move on - whether on the basketball court of the television studio - is of critical value to those who want to reach their highest level of performance excellence.