[rokbox title=”Rules :: Are the rules in your favor?” thumb=”http://folio.snapjag.com/img/v1/p709171832-10.jpg”]http://folio.snapjag.com/img/v1/p709171832-11.jpg[/rokbox]
For those that know me, I am a stickler for rules. This is of course because as a software developer, database administrator, and systems architect, it’s necessary for me to know the boundaries of applicable rules and use wisdom and reason to know when the rules need to be kept to maintain order, or when the rules are to be broken, or better said, surpassed, so new trail blazing can be made in areas of research and innovation.
Are the rules in your favor? Do you get bent out of shape because the game isn’t being called the you want it to and that it’s not benefiting you or your team? Do you feel like you are being shafted by the referee, boss, or just “the rules” in general? Is something out of whack that you consider to be unfair?
These are some questions and ideas that perplex me in reactions of people and situations that have recently surfaced. They have certainly struck a cord with me in the past six months and the reactions have irritated me enough to want me to write about it. These are three of the actual situations that set me off.
- Serena Williams and her tizzy-fit at her tennis match
- Juan Martin De Potro wins US Open vs. Roger Federer
- Local soccer parents and coaches urging improved referee skills
These are the three recent experiences that raised my blood pressure a bit and give me a flood of ideas and receive a plethora of epiphanies. These news-worthy items have made for some interesting questions about whether normal people can hack the rules. Learning how to deal with them. What is on the line that people must go out of their way to be unsportsmanlike. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen with the LA Galaxy vs Real Salt Lake MLS Finals Cup game this week.
Our society has come to a grinding halt in regards to sportsmanship and rules. Whether there are rules in the games, rules in business, or rules of life, structure is of the utmost importance to maintain a civil society and interaction with others. Chaos comes because of the ignorance, avoidance and outright denial of following rules. Is freedom a declaration of “doing whatever we want”! It’s not, it is a declaration of living in an environment that makes it possible for each of us independently to make decisions that allow us to make the best of our lives. Whether it is to be happy or sad, it is up to us.
What helps yield the best results to this end, is the person that is the most self aware. A poingnent question is “What would my actions or statements do to other people in the thread of life and how I act and interact impacts others?” Do our actions and statements effect other people. What is our destiny?
What trails are we blazing in these occasions?
A phrase that I’ve come up with that may make us think twice about our sportsmanship is this “If you think you are smart, you aren’t smart enough if you can’t be nice”. Let’s live up to a higher standard, raise the bar, enjoy people around you and the things we do. Leave alone the bickering and complaining about not getting your way. Give it up already!