Calculated Defeat

 The other day, at the recommendation of a friend, I watched a movie that is literally as old as I am…it premiered one year after I was born…lol! I will leave the title nameless, but I’m about to tell you allllll about it. You ready? Here goes.

The story is centered around an NBA team.  Their star player is a real-life basketball great, but he somehow doesn’t have the concept of playing as a “team”.  He doesn’t pass the ball, goes in for the shot when others are clearly open, etc.  This team was so bad that the arenas were pretty much empty when they played.  Ultimately, the team quits and so does the coach.  And the only people left are the owner, assistant coach, the star player, and the ball boy. The ballboy, is short and around 13 years old I believe.

He thinks the world of the star player and begins to tell him that he has to learn to play as a team.  Somehow, the ball boy gets the idea that because the star player is a Pisces, that if the entire team were Pisces as well, that the team’s losing streak would be over. He takes the time to research astrology and Zodiac signs after a conversation with the star player. He comes up with a bright idea…

He finds an astrologer in the city and goes to meet her.  He ends up asking her to be the astrologer for the entire basketball team.  She agrees, the team holds open tryouts for new players, selects the least likely people to be drafted in the NBA, but…the catch is, each one of the new players…are Pisces. So now the entire team have the same Zodiac sign.

Now…disclaimer…I don’t read a horoscope daily to determine my next moves or what to watch for.  My faith and who I serve guides me on that! I just had to throw that in. I’m just telling you the plot of the movie…that’s it. That’s all…lol!

Ok, so now…back to the story.

Well, the astrologer pretty much becomes their coach in a sense.  She comes in before the games, tells them what to expect, how to play, who to lean on, etc. So, after a total turn around and a winning streak that they hadn’t seen in forever, they make it to the playoffs and are about to play the last game for the NBA Championship.  The CHAMPIONSHIP. The NBA CHAMPIONSHIP. Unfortunately, the team’s trusted astrologer isn’t there for guidance because she’s been kidnapped by men hired by the opposing team’s owner.  Therefore, their “coach”, isn’t there to give them strategy for the most important game of their lives. 

Of course, the team is distraught because of her absence, but they have no idea what has happened to her.  Needless to say, they’re playing, but not good enough.  The Pisces team is behind 10 points. The ballboy, who’s bright idea it was to have an astrologer in the first place, figures out that this particular night has “blocked” their Zodiac sign and that things wouldn’t return to normal for them until midnight. He does what he can to prolong the game, but it doesn’t work.

But then something happens...the star player has a talk with the team. He encourages their strengths and reminds them of what they have collectively.  You know what happens next, right?

They get back on the court, play to win and take that 10-point gap to a 1-point gap.  All during this time, the astrologer has broken free from her kidnappers and is driving to the game! She walks in the arena as they’re now one point away from tying this game or winning it with one shot!

As she sits down next to the ballboy with all of her “charts” (papers), she looks at the scoreboard and says something that changed my life:

“According to my calculations, they’re not supposed to win.”

The ballboy looked her and said:

“I know that, you know that, but they don’t know that.”

WHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

I couldn’t believe my ears. You know why? 

This one statement made me understand the importance of realizing what’s in me and not waiting for someone else to tell me what I’ve already experienced.

See, the star player did just that. He knew what it was like to win and he remembered how he got to the win.  He went back to relying on what was in him and admonished his teammates to do the same!!!

So, when the one

person they’d been relying on showed up too late (the astrologer), they’d already realized who they were.

I’ll say that again.

When the person they’d been relying on showed up too late, they’d already started using what was in them to win. 

And let me say this: the astrologer meant no evil by what she said, but her calculations were wrong.  She had calculated…defeat.

Does this sound familiar?  It certainly does to me.

My defeat in so many things was calculated by other…people.  Sadly, I believed their calculation!!!  They didn’t even have to twist my arm to believe it, because I automatically agreed with them.  That’s what would’ve happened to that basketball team had the astrologer not been kidnapped and showed up at the beginning of the game.

She would’ve given them her calculations. And they would’ve married her findings and lost the game. Do you understand? They would have agreed with her calculated…defeat.

How many times did you agree with what someone else thought about your finish?

And you must know this…there are people calculating your outcome that will never tell you.  That’s why knowing what’s in you…better yet, knowing who is in you will steer how you play the game of life. 

We all have invisible score takers…play like you see them all.

Never let another person calculate your defeat…and be right. Even if you fail, learn the lesson in how you failed and change it for the next go round. You still won!! You know why? Because you figured out the thing that caused you to fail---whether it was another person, thing, or...you.

So...just....WIN. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!!!

It’s in you!!!!!

I think it’s time to hand out some miscalculations. Wanna join me?