Extraordinary Lessons from Sport that Apply to Life Too

Amid all the craziness in the broader world, over the last few months, there have been a handful of extraordinary moments in the world of sports. And since, at their best, sports are a mirror for life, each offers important lessons for us all.

Respond not React

First, there was the golfer Rory McIlroy’s incredible focus on the final day of the Masters. After making multiple devastating unforced errors and playing the worst hole of his career on 13, he came back and made arguably the two best shots of his career on 15 and 17. Then, on the final hole, McIlroy missed an easy putt (if such a thing exists) to win. He choked—the consequence of which was a sudden death playoff. Somehow, he kept it together and went on to play textbook golf in the playoff, winning the Masters after over a decade of chasing it, and becoming just the sixth golfer in history to claim a career grand slam.

On the way into the playoff, after all the ups and downs and the choke on 18, McIlroy’s caddie and longtime friend, Harry Diamond, turned to him and ​said​: Well, Pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning.

McIlroy (and Diamond) taught us the importance of responding, not reacting, and playing the game in front of you. Not the game you wanted to happen. Not the game that was happening. Not the game you thought would happen. But the game that is happening.

McIlroy could have spiraled on multiple occasions. Instead, he let his emotions move through him, took a deep breath, and re-focused on the task at hand. It’s a masterclass in something we write about often here at The Growth Equation: ​The 4Ps of responding not reacting​: pause, process, plan, and proceed. He did this not once, not twice, but at least four times in the final championship round.

"Next-Play" Mentality

Next, there was the Tennis player Carlos Alcaraz’s remarkable comeback during the finals of the French Open. He was down 2 sets to 1, 5 games to 3, and 40 points to zero in the fourth set, and he was playing against Jannik Sinner, perhaps the most methodical—consistent player in the game today.

Probabilistically, coming back from that sort of deficit is like getting hit by lightning twice, and maybe in the same week. And yet, somehow, he did: one stroke at a time; one point at a time; one game at a time; one set at a time. The comeback extended the match to 5 hours and 29 minutes, and Alcaraz, remarkably, won.

It’s easy to talk about being present. It’s much harder to actually be present, especially when the entire world is watching. No helmet. No face mask. No curtain to hide behind. Alcaraz stood his ground. He didn’t quit. He overcame insurmountable odds by being so in the moment that his mind couldn’t drift off into the future to consider just how unlikely his comeback was.

Alcaraz demonstrated a next-play mentality: when things are going great, ride that momentum, but don’t get complacent or stuck in the previous moment. When things are falling apart, when you make an error, when you find yourself losing, learn from what happened if you can, but then forget about it and get back into the game. A next-play mentality is crucial in tennis and all of life as well.

“It’s time to keep fighting, trying to find your moment, your good place again and just for it,” Alcaraz said after the match. “I think the real champions are made in those situations when you deal with that pressure, with those situations in the best way possible. That’s what the real champions have done in their whole careers.”

Focus on the Craft, Not All the Noise Around It

There’s also Caitlin Clark, who is, simply put, crushing everybody in the WNBA. In only her second season in the league, she is leading in votes for the upcoming All-Star Game. She’s had unprecedented spotlight and pressure. We haven’t seen a young talent exceed already astronomically high expectations like this since Lebron James. Not to mention, her opponents are playing exceedingly rough at times, and she's been consistently fouled while maintaining her composure.

Clark shows us the importance of returning to the craft itself, which in her case is basketball. It’s easy to get caught up in the social media storylines, hype, and what other people are saying. But those are all distractions, none of which Clark can control. But what she can control is her preparation and, at least to some extent, her execution on the court. She’s focused there relentlessly. She hasn’t taken the bait on social media. She plays the game and lets the work speak for itself.

It’s an example of greatness that all of us can follow: put the work first, do what you can to tune out distractions, let other people think and say what they want. Everything beyond the court is not your problem, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Energy is limited. Save it for what actually matters, for what actually moves the needle and brings you satisfaction and fulfillment.

Especially in today’s digital world, there are endless opportunities for all of us to talk about the thing, post about the thing, try to game LinkedIn for the thing, worry about what other people are doing in the thing, and on and on and on. But none of this is as powerful as doing the thing, and doing it to the best of your ability—this is where meaningful progress resides.

Compete Fiercely and Respect Deeply

And finally, there are the Oklahoma City Thunder, who recently won their first NBA championship. They may have been the favorites once they arrived at the finals, but for the preceding decade, they were an afterthought: a small-market team that wasn’t willing to spend on megastars.

But wait, you may be thinking, what about their current star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named league MVP? Hit rewind, and you’ll remember that Gilgeous-Alexander came to the team in 2019 as a relative unknown, via a trade in which the Thunder were giving away superstar Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, who were chasing a championship with big-name players. (The Clippers have yet to make it to the finals.) At the time, many said the Thunder were giving up, dumping talent. Turns out, they were slowly and steadily building a championship team.

Not only did the Thunder win a championship with a team-first approach, but they did it with remarkable class. Perhaps the most memorable part of the finals occurred when Indiana Pacers’ star Tyrese Haliburton went down early in Game 7 with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Gilgeous-Alexander was one of the first people to check on him. The game was in Oklahoma City. Brad chatted to a few people who were there, and they all said essentially the same thing: the stadium went quiet, and for the rest of the game, the entire vibe shifted. Yes, the Thunder and their fans were hellbent on winning, but they also recognized and held in reverence what Haliburton lost.

The Thunder team teaches us that a great team is more than a bunch of great players on the court at the same time. Chemistry matters. They also teach us that you can compete, like winning is the only thing that matters, and hold the utmost respect for your competition.

The above examples show us that excellence does not mean control or perfection.

It means the ability to meet the moment with presence, flexibility, and a next-play mentality. It means staying in the game. It means giving your all. It means responding instead of reacting. It means caring deeply. It means laying it all on the line. It means coming up short. It means exceeding expectations. It means doing all of this while staying grounded, maintaining respect for your competition, keeping your head up, and continuing to show up as best you can.

What's true in sport is true in life.

-- Brad and Steve