Chip Shots: Complain Versus Create

I spent the early part of the week doing a lot of bellyaching at work and at home, more than usual in fact. Suddenly, while listening to one of Colin Cowherd’s The Herd segments available on Spotify, he remarked about avoiding toxic people as much as he can.

Cowherd mentioned they block the road to success and further noted he didn’t know a single complainer who had a creative bone in their body.

In his clever way, testimony to his multi-million-dollar annual contract with Fox Sports 1 (FS1), he advised his audience to create instead of complain.

I was embarrassed because it’s almost like watching one of those TV commercials where the announcer is addressing a problem as if he or she were talking to me.

There was a stage in my vocation where I plied my analytical craft with the usual pinpoint accuracy in forecasts and cause-effect explanations, but in meetings I would just – to put it in a nutshell – tell the room, “We stink.”

Typical written and verbal communication was comprised of stating the obvious as the “great recession” of the late 2000s set in instead of offering results as symptoms of opportunities, and the chance to formulate creative solutions.

I’m glad those days are behind me.

Earlier this week, though, I let that flaw plague me again but kept the thoughts to myself, or just repeatedly wrote toxic verbiage and deleted it. At least I didn’t spread this toxicity.

I switched back to my creative/business partner role from my hyper-critic bent, fortunately, again, keeping it to myself.

This early week disruption made me think of NFL coaches getting fired in mid-season. Buyouts for coaches are seven- and eight-figure severances, so there must be a lot of complaining instead of creating resulting in losing the locker room.

It made me think of coaches at the high school level with struggling teams not just this season, but year after year. In this case it’s a more positive light.

Student athletes learn lessons beyond victories. Notice student is the first word, and their coaches are educators and administrators first. Occasionally there will be toxic regimes, but my hat goes off to the kids in struggling programs or kids in struggling seasons who suit up for each match, game, or meet to create and not complain.

I’m fortunate my choice to complain instead of create stayed in the confines of my home office late at night and behind a closed door at my worksite office instead of falling on ears not deserving my attitude.

Moving onto the sports weekend ahead I am eager to see whom Indiana and Ohio State will meet on New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve respectively. My picks are almost all going chalk except for Miami (Florida), and Oregon. I expect the rematch I referenced about two weeks ago: Ohio State and Indiana with a win by Ohio State.

The NFL finally landed its white whale: parity.

It’s more interesting than it is fun. Anyone who thinks they can pick the two Super Bowl challengers has no clue that they… have no clue.

I am convinced only the only two Northern Lakes Conference girls’ basketball teams who will score more than 20 points against Warsaw will be Concord (expecting about 25-30 points) and Northridge (expecting 40 points).

Finally, my hat goes off to Warsaw Tiger Wrestling, scoring 44 points in a recent meet versus perennial power Mishawaka. This is a huge program win. Wrestling, like track, can benefit from a strong core of individuals in securing team victories, and Warsaw’s core has its share of silent assassins.

I wish each of you a Merry Christmas, belated Happy Channukah to members of the tribe until the Dec 27 edition of the Weekender.