I am a die-hard Eagles fan. Still seeking our first super bowl title, I have been through some tough times. We have had some really good teams in the past but this year team was probably the most special I have ever seen. Before last week we were 10-2 with the league MVP leading the way. Our super bowl aspirations had never been higher in my 30 years as an Eagles fan. Last Sunday was setup to be the game of the year between arguably the two best young quarterbacks in football. While the game was incredible and the Eagles prevailed, there was bigger news that came out of last Sunday night. On a goal line play, Carson Wentz ran the ball towards the end zone and dove for the touchdown. Unfortunately in the process he ended up tearing his ACL and is out for the remainder of the season. Talk about gut wrenching news as an Eagles fan.
I still think the Eagles have a shot to make a run at the super bowl with Nick Foles at the helm. He is a competent quarterback who has had some success here in the past. We shall see what happens but my expectations are certainly not what they were a week ago.
While I could talk about the Eagles all day, there are two important lessons to take from this terrible event. I have talked about these in the past but they are so important not to share again.
Things are going to happen in life that are unfortunate, sometimes even downright tragic. One thing that we must remember is not to lose focus of our goals. That can be business goals, personal goals, whatever. We cannot let our circumstances deter us from what we are trying to accomplish.
The second lesson is this: How we respond to adversity will define who we are. We typically have two choices in life when something bad happens. We can let it get us down and not continue to move forward or we can learn from the situation, get back up and continue on. Everyone is going to fail. I have failed too many times to count, especially running my business. It is what we do with those failures that will ultimately define who we are.
I have watched this Eagles team all year. While we may not win the super bowl, I can tell you for a fact that the Wentz injury will not get this team down. We will continue to leave it all out on the field game after game. Will it be enough to bring the first super bowl to Philadelphia? Who knows. Don’t let failures and bad circumstances define you. All you need to do is get up, learn from your mistakes and keep fighting. Have a great weekend!
