Pride and hurt feelings can be pretty overwhelming emotions

Sometime in 2007 I discovered, well, re-discovered, that you can borrow books for FREE at the local library. What a concept! I'm often too lazy or preoccupied with watching sports to take time to read. And to load my shelves with books that I only want to read once and don't desire to read again; I just have other things I'd rather invest in.

But the library, wow, all those books - any of which you can borrow and in many cases if they don't have it, you can reserve it from one of the other libraries in the network, is tremendous. I love to walk the aisles just scanning the titles. I probably sound like a moron, but libraries are non-existent in the 3rd world. Yeah, our research papers necessitated my visiting the East German and West German embassies to get the information to compare their economies. Okay, it's no longer in question... my moronic state that is. As someone recently proclaimed as they walked into my office, "You're a bizarre individual!" I digress.

I recently completed Tony Dungy's Quiet Strength; a fascinating account of his life with a behind-the-scenes look at life in the NFL. I enjoyed it immensely and though I've only heard a interview or two of his, I could hear Tony's voice reading the book to me as I read. The one quote that really caught my attention was "...pride and hurt feelings can be pretty overwhelming emotions."

In a way only Tony can achieve, it's stated so matter of fact-ly with an even-keeled approach in the midst of chaos. And from my experience, it's dead-on. A good reminder for me as I often have to see beyond the initial symptoms to try and assess the root cause of problems. I hope I continue to develop just a small aspect of the quiet strength Tony Dungy exudes.