The Art of the False Start

As go Arsenal so, too, goes life. This was the title that got me up but it's too football-focused. Instead is a title that speaks to what my team managed to do with their (once) perfect season - blow it all by peaking too soon and failing to live up to lofty expectation. As a parable of sorts, I'll try to use their experience to help all of y'all identify...

How many time have you started so strong that you simply killed noise? Such a strong early performance amazes all involved - as friends, as foes; all (including you) are incredulous and wondering silently or aloud how to keep it up. Comparisons are inevitable; the young Arsenal team of 2008 was acquired/configured on the cheap and dubbed the new "Invincibles," an undefeated Arsenal team of the past. The only response is to turn beet red, look down and say "Aw, Shucks". Even if you have to fake it... 

Whenever we starting new - a project at work, a hobby, a relationship - we begin with excitement and trepidation. Starting from scratch is liberating (like finding fresh powder unsullied by other skiers) and jumping in with or without a plan gives us all the conviction we need. After a few early wins, we grow in confidence and pick up speed. Losses build character and serve to reinforce/rejigger our ambition. As the season began, all Arsenal could do was win; they may have tied a game or two at mid-season but...

Then reality invariably sets in. Losses come (and often mount) and the ever-growing confidence we once had is not so much shattered as it is questioned - which is often worse. "What has happened?" is the necessary question. Poor planning, poor execution, lack of focus, fatigue are all fair replies but knowing why you've failure only goes so far. It's what you do next that matters most. Arsenal may play a beautiful game - resembling Brazil's national team back when they were fit and sober - but winning means requires goals, not just perfect passes. Time to take it up a notch...

At this point are two options: mid-course corrections or the death by mediocrity. Correctly diagnosing the root cause is key, of course, but implementing the fix is where the rubber hits the road. Either you're back on track, doing the things you must to win, or you're not. It's that simple and that difficult. Arsenal has failed, so far, to regain momentum; their title challenge appears lost as is their quest for silverware abroad. Explanations abound but it doesn't matter any more; it's too late...

I am personally disappointed at Arsenal but I'll live just as I have lived through disappointment at my own self over my personal history of lost and/or abandoned projects, hobbies and friends/lovers. Guilt and shame over my guitar, my garden, my goatee (just kidding) - and that's just the G's - could kill a guy but the thing to do is to get up, dust yourself off and try, try again. Be sure to appreciate the effort, learn from your mistakes and next time out, make only new ones...