Cool and calm

By Mike Hall, February 10, 2024

A word came to me this morning on the way home from the grocery store.

Imperturbable….always staying calm and controlled even in difficult situations that would cause others to come undone.

In tennis, it’s Bjorn Borg as John McEnroe blew a fuse.

The basketball genius John Wooden was imperturbable while rival Bobby Knight was a seething volcano.

It seems it worked out exceedingly well for Wooden…’The Wizard of Westwood’ as his UCLA Bruins won an unheard of 10 of 11 NCAA titles.

One has to believe that his calm demeanor on court in practice and games transferred to his players who knew that he’d give them the freedom to ‘do their thing’ in games without being berated or pulled from the game after a turnover or missed shot.

Who is there in your life that seems imperturbable…that seems always to be sailing with the wind and not flailing against it?

I once read about a professional golfer who had a hole in one and on the next hole scored an 11.

My suspicion is that John Wooden walking in those shoes would have been fine and Mr. Knight might have broken his seven iron.

I wish there was a bit of the Wizard’s DNA within me.