We are in the wake of Super Bowl 55. Many are still holding on to the last remaining strands of what was an incredible football season. A season against all odds but that ultimately delivered. Tom Brady wrapped up the season by stumbling off of his multi million dollar yacht and oh yes, by throwing one last great pass. Gearing back and tossing the Lombardi Trophy from his boat to one that held all of his receivers and tight ends. Just like the Super Bowl and the last 6 games, they came up with a clean catch for the win.
The American Gambling Association has reported upwards of 4.3 BILLION dollars were gambled on this Super Bowl that featured competition between the past and the future. Something like 23 million people were predicted to have gambled on this game in one way or another. For those that laid their chips with the Bucs, the underdogs, you were rewarded handsomely. Unfortunately though, if you chose the odds on favorite Kansas City Chiefs, you lost some but still live to fight another day.
Those are some staggering numbers indeed and the media has been on a week long frenzy talking about the living legend of Tom Brady. His greatness has now spanned three decades. He pulled off the unthinkable upset of the Kansas City chiefs who rolled in with arguably one of the most physically talented QB's in Pat Mahomes and a team that seemed unstoppable. Bart Scott, retired linebacker, was on his nationally broadcasted radio show the next day speaking about, "what am I doing with my life?". Brady has sent Bart into a spiral of questioning himself of how Tom is able to still continue to win Super Bowls at the age of 43 (absolutely unprecedented) and he has decided to hang it up and substitute his pads for a golden microphone when he remains years younger. The story lines run of days, they run for weeks. There are a million different angles that journalists, talk show hosts and broadcasters have taken from this incredible feat.
However, there is one angle that I have not really heard too many talk about and I think it deserves a nod. Far too often we are quick to put our eggs in one basket with the situation that we are currently in. Far too often we are quick to simply settle for what is in front of us. I ask the question, of the 23 some odd million people that gambled on this game, how many of them in the last five years, have decided to, get this, actually bet on themselves? Because if you sit back and think about it, Tom Brady did exactly that. Tough times do not last but tough people do. Everyone finds themselves cornered into difficult situations. We all put our heads in our hands far too often and think to ourselves, how did we get to this point? We try to fight through the fodder and make best of what has been HANDED TO US. But a lot of us forget that great outcomes will often times require great change. Great change is tough. Change in general is tough for a lot of us. It takes a high level of self reflection and some tough self love to realize, hey, maybe I am the one that has to change my circumstances. Proof of this is in living color as Tom Brady showed us exactly that. If we continue to become a victim of circumstances, then in the end, we can only blame ourselves.
In this moment of reflection, I sit back and think about all the hardships I have endured in my short time on this earth. I try to identify defining spots in those moments the led me on my path, whether good or bad. At the end of the day, this journey that we are all on has led us all to this exact time in history one way or another and more often than not, I realize that the winning decision each and every time was when I decided to bet on myself. The exact moment I decided to put my chips on the table and bet that I will be happier with decisions made based on my ability to control the outcome.
So I urge us all to not forget that and when we wake up every day to take a quick second to ourselves and think about what we are up against. And to ask a simple question. Is it worth it to stay stuck or would I be better off making a big change that will ultimately require of me to bet on myself? Because from where I stand and what we all just witnessed on Super Bowl weekend, it seems as though betting on yourself may just lead us to the promise land and ultimate happiness.