Go Be That Champion, Adjust!

In 1973, at age 29, she won the Battle of the Sexes tennis match against Bobby Riggs who was 55. He taunted her by saying no woman could beat a man…famous last words! Over her career, Billie Jean King won 39 grand slam titles – 12 in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. Her passion was tennis and gender equality on and off the court. She spoke up when it was not to her advantage to speak, knowing that her tennis career and longevity gave her the power to be heard. I find great peace in knowing that a woman who wanted equality across all genders knew that at one time or another all champions adjust.

Adjust….interesting reminder. Life doesn’t always go the way we plan. Circumstances, situations, inequality, powerlessness, anger and even plain old crap happen to us all at one time or another. It can hit you head on, be self inflicted, arrive wrapped in a pretty bow or smack us right in the face as we are leaving to do something fun. POW! Suddenly nothing is as expected or planned, and we have to adjust. Adjust our actions, our thought processes, our attitude, our steps moving forward, and maybe even our budget. It hurts, it is disappointing, and it can even set us back from meeting our timelines. No matter what it looks like, life will force us to adjust.

We do have options. We can ignore it and move forward rapidly hoping that smack wasn’t what we thought it was. We can cry – which sometimes helps a lot. We can pout, stagnate, crumple into a little ball and eat buckets of ice cream. If we want to move forward, we must adjust. What we thought was going one way is now not happening or is heading a completely different direction. UGHa-rinio!

I recently had a smack, and had to sit still and think about what I wanted to do. Stay the course, go the new direction, or pivot in some other way? Wisdom over the years has taught me to take a moment and think before throwing a good idea away simply because it no longer looks like I thought it should – or would. Some of my best life adventures have come at me from a weird angle and ended up surprising me by becoming a grand voyage.

How adjustable are you? What have you learned about yourself and your ability to adjust from your last smack in the face? Maybe this time it might be wise to sit still, turn off all your devices and ask yourself what you REALLY want. Are you going to let some middle aged man tell you you can’t win, simply because he is arrogant and a sexist pig? (Which by the way is what Billie Jean King gave Bobby Riggs when she won, a baby pig!) Maybe your best bet is to adjust, move forward and channel your hard work and efforts into a new direction. All champions adjust. So go be that champion, adjust!