Do you still get butterflies? Are you playing through the whistle?

November 1, 2016 / in General Information / by Jason Terry

Author: Jason Terry

As a blogger, it’s important to pay attention to what’s going on around you. When you see or hear something that’s newsworthy, funny or educational, you should file that away on your list of things to blog about.

I’ve learned to keep my blog radar on at all times. It comes naturally now after all of these years of sharing stories. And this week’s story is about something I heard last week that I believe is a Core Truth. (Mic calls them #micnuggets, which is a way cooler name. :)

Jim Calvert at Straub Construction asked me how singing has been going. For those of you that don’t know, I sing at my church once a month.

I told Jim that it’s been great, but that I still get butterflies in my stomach before I get up on stage to sing in front of hundreds of people.

About the time I was telling my story, Parker Young walked into the room. He heard what I was talking about and casually said:

“If you don’t get butterflies, you probably don’t care enough.”

That really got my attention. And the more I thought about it, the more I loved that simple statement. I believe it’s true, so I filed it away to tell you about it this week.

If you don't get butterflies, you probably don't care enough. Share on X

Do you ever find yourself nervous and worried at the same time about how something is going to work out?

It could be taking a relationship to the next level by asking someone to marry you. It could be taking a risk in your business so that you can grow in a big way. It could be making a career change because you aren’t happy in your current job. It could be that you need to let someone go that just isn’t working out no matter what you’ve tried.

These are all things that should stir your feelings and emotions. These are things that really matter to you… things that you hope will go a certain way, but you aren’t sure if they will. And that’s the purest definition of “butterflies” that I can think of.

My hope is that you still feel butterflies in the mix of emotions that you experience as you go through life. If that’s not true, or you find yourself a bit numb, think about what might need to change so you can get back to that place of caring deeply about what you do and who you’re doing it with.

That leads me to another Core Truth I heard last week.

You've got to play through the whistle. Share on X

To make a big change, you need discipline. I was at breakfast with one of my peer advisory groups when Jon Ogren was talking about coaching kids’ sports. He said:

“You’ve got to play through the whistle.”

It’s another way of saying that there are times when you’ve got to give 110% to succeed. John was applying the concept to sports and business. (The picture is not actually Jon by the way, just a coach with a whistle I found… :)

I loved that saying. It stuck in my brain as another Core Truth. So I emailed myself a reminder to talk about it in this blog post.

I definitely don’t have all the answers. I struggle in life just like everyone else. I have great days and challenging days. But what gives me hope is that I’m trying to be better. It’s good to know that embracing the butterfly moments makes me stronger. And having the discipline to play through the whistle will help me get to where I’m trying to go.

I hope this week’s post made you stop and think. And if it had an impact, please take a minute to let me know. That’s why we do this…because we care so much about you and all of the other people that are part of our lives.