Hold On To Some Irrational Beliefs

​During an NCAA national championship post-game interview, Indiana University football's starting center - Pat Coogan - was asked:

"You didn’t just win a National Championship, you did it at Indiana, which at one point in time had the most losses in the history of the sport. You went from the bottom to the mountaintop. Give us a player’s view of what is it like to go on that journey?"

Coogan's answer was quite simple: "Yeah, well, I think it starts with belief, right? And sometimes that belief has to be a little irrational."

How many of us build our beliefs of what we think is possible, of what we think we are capable of, on what has already been proven to be possible? How many of us imagine the future based on what we've already seen in the past?

Many people will achieve something today that has never been achieved. Will that be because they were the first to imagine it, or the first to believe it could be done in spite of the fact it had never been done?

When making decisions in our lives, when setting goals, too many of us are way too rational. Too many of us let the facts of life stand in the way of what we might create or achieve in this life.

I'm not suggesting that we should all adopt a willy-nilly approach to our pursuits. But I am wondering, does over-thinking or over-analyzing stand in the way of some of us becoming who we might become. Might the world benefit from seeing a little more of our willy-nilly side?

Coogan was suggesting that "it's never been done" was certainly something for the players and coaches to consider when pursuing Indiana's first national championship in football, but the question is, how do you respond to such a consideration.

It's never been done so it must be impossible to do.

Or...

It's never been done so that means it's about time someone does it.

I'm not asking us all to be irrational today, but then again, maybe I am. When we make decisions based on what makes sense, we too often leave out the possibility of achieving something great that doesn't make any sense at all.

Something that's impossible to believe.

But something that DOES start with a belief - it's just a belief that might be a little irrational.