Blockbuster Trade

I am not a big basketball fan. I enjoy the game enough to go watch a live game but not enough to watch it on television. The extent of getting information on my local team is hearing about it on the radio news on my morning commute. 

For the last several years, I have heard how we need a new coach. The team replaced the old coach, and new hope arrived. After the first year, the call for a new coach and a new general manager started. The team has had its difficulties. We have one of the best players in the game and occasionally get into the playoffs, only to lose in the first round. 

This year has been no different. Every morning for many weeks, the sportscasters start suggesting that rather than aiming for the playoffs, try for a lottery pick in the NBA draft. Maybe we will have better luck next year with new coaches and players. 

This morning, the news was much different. I turned on my car radio and heard, "The Pelicans were going to acquire DeMarcus Cousins in a blockbuster trade." The sportscaster also added how the team now has a legitimate chance of not just reaching the playoffs but doing well. 

Again, I am not enough of a basketball fan to know the impact this trade would make. By the sound of the reporter's voice, the team has newfound hope I am aware that local media sometimes over dramatizes how big of a trade can be so I checked out NBA radio. The national media apparently agrees that this is a huge move for the team and possibly for basketball. 

Sometimes in life, we would love to start over. Maybe go somewhere that nobody knows us and start fresh. While a fresh start sounds nice, often it ends with very mixed results. The reason starting over is not always prudent is because we are the problem. We bring our own issues with us wherever we go.  

Most of us do not need a complete overhaul. We simply need to get rid of a few things that hold us back and add something better. 

Would we be better off if we traded hatred for love, discord for peace and selfish ambition for self-control? This would be a blockbuster trade. The results could bring hope. It could bring change to everything around you. It could even bring you success. 

We need to stop trying to change our situations and look inwardly for what we can change ourselves.