Lost Wisdom

This idea of lost wisdom has been floating around in my head for a while, but it was a recent book I read that prompted me to finish this post.  I’m an avid basketball fan, and the Larry Bird / Magic Johnson era of NCAA/NBA basketball fed my own desire to play.  I read their recent book called When The Game Was Ours and Magic also dealt with what I’m thinking.

I don’t know when it first occurred, but it was definitely not the norm.  I was telling someone great advice and they weren’t listening.  I couldn’t shake the “This guy is an idiot” judgment out of my mind.  As I have aged, it seems more and more ears refuse to listen, or simply don’t care.  Why does this happen?  Is it a personality thing, or is it a pride thing?  Hmmm.

I must admit, I too am very good at not listening.  It wasn’t until around 2003 at the age of 30 that I realized my failing.  I started to wonder if 30 was the magic age where:

1)      You realize 100% that you are NOT a god and that you DON’T know everything.

2)      You realize people are starting to NOT listen to YOU.

It’s kind of like looking in a mirror.  The light turns on and you see yourself in other people.  Of course, this insight next drives you to want to turn that light off very quickly!  Has this happened to you?  Or have you missed it?

Magic Johnson felt much the same way during his final comeback in 1996.  He played the second half of the season with the Lakers and just couldn’t get anyone on board with his thinking.  We’re talking about Magic Johnson here, and people wouldn’t listen!  Nick Van Exel was called out among several other Lakers.  They didn’t want “Show Time” basketball, and they ended up losing.

Backing up a year or so, Magic actually coached a few games for the Lakers in 1994.  Again, he could not get his players to listen.  So, he grabbed a couple players who were listening and the other coaches and they suited up and spanked the starters in practice pick-up games.  Guess what?  They still didn’t listen!  I keep thinking back to my thought of “This guy is an idiot”.  Why, oh, why do we NOT listen to the wisdom of people who have “been there and done that”?

I decided recently that I’m not too proud to watch a “How to” video on Youtube about performing solid basketball post up moves.  In the past, I would have been too good for that.

I wonder how much LOST WISDOM is floating around out there just waiting to be absorbed.  Hopefully, you know the idea that bad events in history WILL be repeated if we don’t study history?  We must learn what others know.  It’s a shame to waste all that experience.

Acknowledgements:  Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net