This past Saturday, I was watching American Sniper for the first time. Once the movie ended, I remembered that there was a potential great basketball game on between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder. As a sports lover without cable TV, I try to catch network games whenever possible.
Once I started watching the game, Oklahoma City was already up by ten points. As the quarter moved on, the lead pretty much stayed the same. Instead of just watching every minute, I decided to multi-task and started to watch some other TV shows and surf the net.
Every time I turned back to the game, Oklahoma City held a firm lead. By the time the fourth quarter came around, it seemed to me that this game was over. Oklahoma City was going to give Golden State their sixth loss of the season. I went ahead and watched another Netflix show until I feel asleep.
On Sunday night, I found myself surfing the Internet right during the Oscars preshow. I happen to stumble upon ESPN.com and saw this article about Stephen Curry breaking his 3-point record. I noticed a whole lot of articles about the Golden State Warriors.
“That seems odd, why so many positive articles when they lost last night. Wouldn’t Oklahoma City get some attention?”
That’s when I saw it….
I saw an article stating that Steph Curry hit a game tying shot in the 4th quarter that led to Golden State winning the game in overtime.
HOW IN THE WORLD DID THAT HAPPEN!!!!
I was completely blown away. That game was over! Golden State was getting handily beaten by an aggressive Kevin Durant & Russel Westbrook combination attack! Golden State was missing shots and just getting their butts kicked.
HOW DID THEY WIN THAT GAME!!??
I then looked at the highlights of the game and realized exactly how they did it. It was an all out effort of the reigning MVP, Stephen Curry!!
I posted 6 Wonderful Life Lessons You Need To Learn From The Golden State Warriors back in December 2015. At that time they were still undefeated. I felt a sense of history happening at that point in time. Now that Winter is almost over, the Warriors have only lost five games up to this point!
Golden State is a great team, but there’s without a doubt now that Stephen Curry is the current greatest playing NBA player! Sorry Lebron James, Sorry Kevin Durant…I respect both of those players but Stephen Curry is the MVP!
For those who think that Steph Curry’s Super Star status happened overnight (or any of those other former MVPs), you better think again! We all love to fantasize that all it takes is having a camera pointed at you and you will become a superstar. The Kardashian effect is not realistic. If you want to get to that next level of greatness, you need to become your own MVP.
Here are six habits that you need to develop if you are to become your own Most Valuable Player!
Never Give Up
That game taught myself a valuable lesson. NEVER GIVE UP. No matter what the score is, no matter how hard your life is…you have to keep going! Life is not divided up into four perfect quarters. The game of life rarely goes perfect for us at the beginning.
What it takes is you grinding it out one step at a time. Eat one healthy choice at a time. Go to one gym session at a time. Each one of those habits add up over time. You may not physically see it, but your life is a scoreboard. You can either win or lose. The choice is yours. Why not put up as many points as possible and never give up!
Accept Criticism
Imagine winning a major championship and getting an MVP award after years of being ignored and made fun of. Then image having the majority of your peers talk about how awful your team was, and didn’t deserve the championship you had earned. Then image a whole network broadcasting this hatred 24/7. Now you hear the hatred from peers, the media and even fans of the sport you play.
Can you imagine how angry that would make you? Imagine taking that anger and using it to have one of the best records in the history of your sport. Not just a season, BUT THE ENTIRE HISTORY of the NBA!
Despite this awesome record, imagine still getting hated on. Imagine people you admire talking dirty about you. Imagine them saying just how garbage you are. That what you are doing DOESN’T matter!
That’s what Steph Curry is currently going through. He is constantly hearing nothing but criticism. Day in and day out. So how is he responding?
He is currently putting up a historic season that cannot be ignored! He is showing the league that he is no fluke. He is embracing this criticism and using it to drive to new heights!
If he can accept that high level of criticism, why can’t you?
Practice Practice Practice
Nobody is great at anything when they first attempt it. The first time I ever attempted a deadlift; I almost injured my lower back. That tends to happen to a lot of people because you refuse to develop the routine over time with practice.
Stephen Curry did not make his first three point basket. Heck he could barely shoot a free throw. Now look at the guy! Those are the two areas he leads the NBA in! That accuracy took years of practice. Not a day. Not weeks. Not a month but YEARS of practice.
Build One Skill At A Time
We get sidetracked so easily that we forget to get good at one thing before moving on to another. Before every game, crowds are amazed at Steph Curry’s pre-game rituals. It involves dribbling two balls at one time for hand-eye coordination. He then takes amazing shots from everywhere on the floor. Increasing his range with each attempt until he’s almost near half court.
Each one of those skills were developed one at a time. Stop trying to master everything at once and you end up being a master of nothing!
Be Humble
Despite all the analysis Steph Curry has been getting, the one aspect I admire is just how humble he is. He and his teammates have every reason to be cocky. They have the best record in the NBA with one of the best players on the planet. Steph Curry decided to go against human nature and stay humble.
Remember that as you go through your own journey. You’re going to have people who want to distract you from your goals. Those ones hating now well eventually be the ones asking for your advice later. Do yourself a favor and just stay humble. It will make you a better person in the long run.
Enjoy The Process
Stephen Curry has worked hard to finally get the appreciation and attention he’s getting now. Whenever you see him, he always has a smile on his face because he knows just how hard the process was. The process is never easy! A lot of people fail to keep going on their journeys towards their goals.
You can either choose to be bitter about the process or you can just sit back and enjoy it. If you maintain that positive attitude while achieving your goal, you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy it!
I don’t know what’s going to happen with the Golden State Warriors, but I’m going to enjoy it while I can. It was incredible when Michael Jordan and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls set the record for the most games won in a season.
This ride is becoming even more enjoyable because in the midst of it all, is a young man proving his MVP status by taking his game to a new level! It’s one of the most inspirational things to watch, and I’m so glad to be able to experience it!
