Discipline & Habits
Articles mainly about self-discipline, habits, routines, time management, excellence, hard work.
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Giving Away Thankfulness
Why should Thanksgiving be limited to one calendar day a year? Giving thanks can be so much more than watching football all day, eating piles of delicious food that later make us miserable, Christmas shopping, a four-day weekend.…
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Take a Planned Timeout!
Coaching basketball taught me many life-related concepts. These principles just appeared on the court! One example is a timeout. To take a break, intermission, breather becomes a time to refocus.
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Timeout
My dad loved timeouts. This is not a punishment and it’s unfortunate that this language is connected to punishment. Timeouts are crucial for our health, for taking a step back, and for reevaluating.
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Practice Gratitude
“As medicine is to the body, gratitude is to the soul.” For the past six months, Words of Hope with Fred Crowell has been a source of joy and thanksgiving to me.
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The First Habit of Atomic Love
The first habit needed to live from a place of abiding love for others is to sincerely seek God. This is the filling station. It is the source for this love to arrive and overflow.
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Atomic Relational Habits
I love James Clear’s work on “atomic habits,” and his research on how to make long lasting changes. Dad naturally understood how to build tiny daily habits that accrue over time. He lived this with his parenting.
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The Discipline of Gratitude
I am keeping a gratitude timer on my phone. Every hour and a half, I check in with myself. How grateful have I been? How much news or negative thinking have I jumped into?
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Love in Action
I have been finding photos of my dad when he is my age. He looks so young and healthy! I can hear him counseling me as I begin to feel myself getting uptight.
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Disciplines
Dad greatly excelled at relational discipline. He willingly submitted to the rigor of relational well-being, investing time and attention, encouraging words, and spending quality time with those he loved. Dad also greatly excelled at spiritual discipline.
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Brave the Wind
Driving through a beautiful college campus, I notice several ugly tree stumps in the middle of the landscaped meridian. They jut sideways with sharp points. I remember these trees.
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Industrious
Dad had a paper route at the age of nine. He had to be out the door early in the morning, as early as 5:00 am. Anacortes is built on a hill.
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Discipline
I am thankful that my dad instilled in me the discipline of scripture memory. I have been memorizing in earnest since 2005 and have had about 450-550 working verses.
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Delight in Difficulty
One of the hardest lessons I have learned is the discipline to delight in difficulty. Our NBC Central office team has been practicing this for almost 10 years, but it still is not easy or natural.
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Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude was one of the most important disciplines for my dad. Gratitude for God, for life, and for people were his intentional and pursued disciplines. I call gratitude a discipline because it is a habitual mindset.
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Facing the Year of Fear
On March 11, 2020, we received news the March Basketball Tournament was closing. Games were canceled across the country. We met as a staff in the conference room for the last time.
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Self-Responsible Leadership
Dad loved parenting, and he was a fantastic Dad. He and Mom taught Shann and me so much about the daily habits of being a meaningful parent.
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Labor Day
My Dad loved hard work. He had a paper route at the age of nine. I visited Dad’s hometown this summer to watch one of our amazing directors.
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Love’s Discipline
Shann teaches poetry at Stanford, and our family is doing the lectures and lessons together. I can’t believe how incredible this experience has been. I have been a lousy student.
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When Problems Compound
One of the great gifts from my Dad was the discipline to write each day in a gratitude journal. At NBC Camps, we say daily habits reveal our future success.
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Daily Relational Clean-up
Dad had the gift of reading the Bible and making the words immediately practical and healing. He believed Christianity should make us more like Christ–more loving, forgiving, generous, and full of joy.
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RPE4FJC
My brother and I made some rocks to give at the Celebration of Life with the letters RPE4FJC. RPE stands for Relentless Pursuit of Excellence-one of Dad’s favorite reminders. Excellence means greatness or distinction, to tower above.
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Memory Palace
Dad and I loved to memorize. One of the best gifts he gave me was my passion for memorizing scripture and poetry.
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A Better Person
The slogan for NBC Camps is better players, better people. Dad and I talked about relentlessly pursuing excellence in life without leading to perfectionism and burnout.
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Oyster Mouth
Dad and I both struggle with our mouths sometimes. Dad said things he should not say. I would get so frustrated with him when he would do this.
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The Discipline of Prayer
Dad died two months ago. It feels like it just happened and conversely that it happened long ago. Dad’s 12 year battle with cancer carried so many thoughts and questions about when his time would be up.
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Mealtime Conversation
Our family created a ritual around mealtime conversation. This ritual refined through the years, but it emerged from my Dad’s quote he often used, “Great people talk about ideas, mediocre people talk about things, and small people talk…
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Creating Your Own Secret Garden
I have felt fairly bereft with dad’s passing, so I have decided to set a daily intention, something he would encourage me to consider for the day.
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Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness
Something truly amazing happens when we clean when the dirt is removed when clutter becomes neat. Our human spirit is enhanced when we make something better than when we found it.
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Comfort in Silence
Years ago, Henry David Thoreau said: “The mass of men live lives of QUIET desperation.” Yet today, I (meaning Fred Crowell) say: “Most people live lives of ACTIVE desperation.” Why?
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The Law of Did You Know
There are three profound Laws of Life that impacts all of us, whether we are aware of them or not.
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Whose Slave Am I?
“You can’t break a bad habit by throwing it out the window. You’ve got to walk it slowly (and deliberately) down the stairs.” When people purchase my book, Meet My Head Coach , I encourage them to read…
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Death Moment(s) Part 2
Key Statement: Death Moments and death are inevitable. Yet both death moments and death are subject matters seldom discussed except at funerals. Elegant question.
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Exit Hell Hallways Enter Peaceful Rooms
Key Statement: “Ex” means to get out, and “en” means to enter. Get out of the hallway and enter rooms of beauty, grace, peace, joy, and love.
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Wisdom Checklist
The value of a wisdom checklist is to prioritize each vital activity necessary to complete the task with great success. After choosing major projects, it is wise to have a daily checklist.
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Wisdom Checklist
The invention of the checklist is one of the all-time great discoveries! It can also be called PLOTTING THE COURSE. It is a reminder list of required things to do or points to be considered.
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Easy to Start, Hard to Finish
Each New Year resolutions are made with high hopes and firm resolve. By the year’s end, these well-intended resolutions will have been abandoned.
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The Climb
Today is the 43rd day of the year 2021. Wow! At least 10% of the year 2021 has already evaporated!
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Train to Win Wisdom
TRAINING TO WIN is far superior to trying to win. Trying is not sufficient. We fail because we don’t train. Trying is not enough.
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Sanctuary Home
“If your faith does not work in the home, your faith does not work.” – Howard Hendricks Vividly the bird sanctuary at the San Diego Zoo is framed in my memory bank.
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Finish Before You Start
Genius is being able to visualize the finish line or the finished product before you begin the race or the task. The late Dr.
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17 Minutes, 17 Seconds
These two 17’s are the best moments of my day! This is time dedicated to entering my personal secret garden. The psalmist called this a secret place.
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A Teen’s Four Most Enemies
Military battles, sports, and music competitions all demand mind management and self-regulation skill training and development. It is said that elite, world-class stars in sports or the arts practice more than 10,000 hours.
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Home – War Zone or Safe Sanctuary
Within the world-famous San Diego Zoo is a truly magnificent bird sanctuary. It is breathtakingly beautiful. It is a perfect home of safety with the provision of water, food, and fresh air for these birds.
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Recovery Rate
The best athlete in my lifetime of coaching was gentle and kind, yet super competitive, his name was Jonathon Stringier. Jonathon was our star center at the U of Alaska.
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What Every Child Should Learn – Love Work
The older I get, the more I learn about life. The happiest people I meet and the most unpleasant people I observe confirm to me that it is not hard work but loving to work hard that is…
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Mind Management Self-discipline
There was a time in my life I detested all pain. It was to be avoided at all costs. Certainly nothing good about it! Yet I discovered it could not be avoided.
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Happiness Is…
Happiness is: an emotion of joy a feeling of merriment absence of anxiety an attitude a decision encouragement a smile kindness purposeful practiced a learned behavior a choice commitment If happiness encompasses all these virtues, no wonder happiness…
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Hey World, How Is Your Pma?
If we don’t protect our minds and hearts the negativity of the world will rob us of our positive mental attitude!
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Breathing with Intelligence
When a baby was born years ago, the doctor encouraged the initial breathing by spanking the baby. Why? To breathe is to live. Breathing is life.
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Drink Water
“Two types of drinkable water. Water from God’s earth and water from GOD’S heart – we need both.” Key Statement: “Fred, your bones want water, drink 120 ounces daily.” – Susan Reynolds’s, Endermologist Up to 60% of the…
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Westerners Have Watches
An African proverb says, “Westerners have watches, Africans have time.” The meaning: Africans work with goals and targets but do not relate them to a time deadline. Therefore, there is no hurry in Africa.
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Existential Diagnosis of Self-love, Part 1
The legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus reportedly said: “You cannot become a great golfer until you have the skill to watch yourself hitting the golf ball.” This is like taking your eyes out of your head and watching yourself…
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One or Two Fisted Living
Solomon has wisdom for those of us willing to listen, learn and do. “Fools fold their hands leading to ruin.” And yet.
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Winning Is Not Luck or Accidental
“That was a fluke!” When someone said that, did you believe them? Was it a freak course of nature? Yet, winning is never pure luck or accidental. Rather, winning is learned behavior .
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Conscious Contact
In retrospect, maybe even Super Bowl players (winners or losers) see improvements needed in their play. In life, we are never perfect!
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Mindful Management & Self-regulation, Part 3
I believe Mindful Management and Self-Regulation are life’s two most difficult skills to master. St.
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Mindful Management & Self-regulation, Part 2
One great mind once said, “If you spend 15 minutes a day in Mindful Management with Self-Regulation, you will be able to solve nearly all of your problems.” Fifteen minutes!
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Mindful Management & Self-regulation, Part 1
I have been privileged to spend many years educating, encouraging, inspiring and challenging youth. The foremost life skills have been: I have been privileged to spend many years educating, encouraging, inspiring and challenging youth.
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Running Running Running
“Days at times can be very long, however, in the end, life is too short.” -FJC Often we hear the phrase, I am too busy .
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Space Phenomena
Without space, life is absent from rhythm. Life is rhythm therefore life is dead without rhythm. Space is integral to life. Living in the USA is a precious gift for millions of people.
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The Check List
When the grind of life is so intensive, the human brain cannot process all that needs to be done without mistakes. A checklist has been proven to be an effective tool.
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Time Is Priceless
Time is the only sparse commodity on earth. Time does not honor, respect or bow to those of personal wealth or fortune.
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Authentic Power
Internal combustion – Internal motivation. Gottlieb Daimler is known as the founder of the internal combustion engine. This engine was a game changer in the world of automobiles and trucks.
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Start Where You Are
All too often it is asked, “Where do I begin to change the world?” The simple question demands a simple answer: Start where you are . Dr.
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Position Doesn’t Determine Destiny
When position is more important than destiny the focus needs to be reversed. Research reveals focusing on destiny increases performance and health both individually and within a community. Position focus means: I am the father. Obey me.
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Your Body- Living Sacrifice
Your tongue can speak over 130 words a minute. Your mind can think over 400 words per minute.
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The ‘Ez’ Button
Today’s culture has an auto-pilot: We do what we know we should NOT do, and we don’t do the things we know we SHOULD do.
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Train to Win
WIN – “To be successful or victorious in a contest or conflict.” – Dictionary To win is a verb; a verb connotes action; action involves work; work is learned behavior. Therefore to win is learned behavior. Fact.
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Prayer Practice – Part 1
Can you name one valuable life skill that does not demand practice? When someone says, “I am good at ….,” you assume that person may be gifted but also has engaged in many repetitions and regular exercise of…
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Biblical Truth Never Changes
RELATIONSHIPS – a gift in life 1) Show how much you care about acquaintances, friends, and family. 2) Talk positively; the way you talk is the way you act.
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Crowell on Second Guessing
The second of two WOH’s on the destructive habit of second guessing oneself. The biggest little word in the English language is the word “if.” Two letters that can make a big impact.
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Bring Inner Strength Under Control
A healthy baby is gifted with incredible inner strength. This internal power is vividly displayed when the baby screams to the point of exhaustion. Try screaming as hard as you can like a baby enraged.
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Practice Happiness
If happiness were a tool in a carpenter’s toolbox, it would likely be a pair of needle-nose pliers. Many t imes these specialized pliers are the only tool needed for the mechanical fix.
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Defeating Anorexia Addiction, Part 3
The teenage gal (in Part 2) began this day-by-day Win Life plan, the process of “living a brand new me.” There are FOUR FOUNDATION PILLARS to beat any addiction and all destructive behaviors, including anorexia and suicide thinking.…
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Mirror Management
Key Statement: if you don’t keep your mirror clean, the mirror cannot do its job to tell you the truth about yourself. When you look deeply into your mirror you will be looking at enemy number one.
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Your Best Investment
This past Thursday the NBA gave us five continuous hours of drafting 60 fine college basketball players for a possible future with its professional teams.
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Second Guessing Is Unprofitable
“We should have won that game.” – New York Mets Terry Collins Reading USA Today Sports , Bob Nightengale’s interview with Manager Collins brought me back to the Royals-Giants game 5.
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Shut up Mode
Key Statement: It’s so simple, yet so hard to do; open ears and mouth shut! Three keys: Slow to speak Quick to listen Slow to anger Telling people to shut up is not acceptable in the Crowell household.…
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Motion Is Lotion
An expert yoga teacher says: “Young people have lots of lotion to oil their joints. The aging process slows down the body’s lubrication process.” The solution to rusty hinges is oil lubrication.
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Beating the Big C History
Very high chances, you have a person in your life who is fighting MR. C, the dirty player Cancer.
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Easy to Come Out
While purification is the coming out, it is not the staying out stage. Staying out is much more difficult. It is easy to come out, harder to stay out .
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17 Minutes – 17 Seconds
17:17 is now my magic number! It replaces 15:00. Why is it magic? It is my ALONE TIME within a personal private place. It is my stop-everything time to bring every thought under control with deep breaths.
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Finishing Is Harder Than Starting
Three excellent ways to finish a day, a week, a month, and a year; Gratitude is the best attitude. Gratitude increases performance. Dress your mind in gratitude.
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The Smart Start
Is it possible that 2019 could be the best year ever in your entire life? Even if it were remotely possible why not go for it? What do we have to lose? CROWELL’S 2019 GAME PLAN!
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Start Stop Rule
Chances are if you tell someone to stop doing something, there will be an instinctive resistance. By nature, we resist correction and do not like to be told “No.” True?
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Don’t Hurry – Be Quick
On the basketball court quickness is one of the most important athletic skills. Your quickness in athletics often determines what level of play you can achieve.
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Prepare to Be Prepared
Being prepared for momentous sports, business or life events is not enough ! Being prepared to be prepared is the crucial first step to winning.
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The Crowell Basketball System
THE CROWELL BASKETBALL SYSTEM This logical, organized system of basketball is based on over 50 years of basketball experience. Coach Crowell has learned through competitive coaching experience from the best coaches in the history of basketball.
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Crowell’s 80-20 Rule
This is a valuable rule for aspiring basketball players who come to NBC Camps . Actually, it is valuable to all people. Personally, I delight in teaching it to those who come under my coaching influence.
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Vision Carries Conviction
Encourage children to dream big dreams; train them the life skills to make their dreams and visions come true. The creative gift, imagination, separates the human mind from every other creature on the planet. Imagination births vision.
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Terrific Tuesdays
Is it possible to consciously decide to delegate Tuesdays as the day of the week to make terrific things happen? On Mondays, we focus on the mission and purpose of our lives.
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Mission Possible
Knowing how you want to live is the first step in living the way you want to live. – FJC At one time the television series, Mission Impossible, was one of the most popular programs in America.
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Merry Christmas
Warm and delightful Merry Christmas wishes to all Words of Hope readers-friends. This WOH is my Christmas gift to you.
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Protect Your Sacred Place
Famous motivational leader, Earl Nightingale, said, “If you spend 15 minutes alone each day, you can solve most of the world’s problems.” 17 years ago, I began an intense study of St. Ignatius theology.
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You, Too, Must Keep Watch
I love the movie, PATTON. Facing the remarkable German tank commander, Rommel in Africa, General George S Patton exclaimed after crushing the Nazi’s, “I read your book, Rommel”. Patton was a fabulous leader.
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Ready? – Ready Freddy!
For years, NBC campers have been asked if they are ready. The expected response is a loud, “READY FREDDY!” I have no idea who came up with this slogan but campers seem to love it.
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Lessons Learned from Italy
For 13 days 37 basketball players and adults toured fantastic Italy. These are a few of the lessons we learned and hopefully live out the rest of our lives. CONTENTMENT IS AN ATTITUDE!
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Get Ready to Be Ready
KEY STATEMENT: The will to win is not nearly important as the will to PREPARE to win. Preparation, the discipline, focus, concentration, and commitment is the prerequisite for success in any endeavor.
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Winning
Key Statement: Winning begins will the moment the right now the precious present, if you can win this precious moment right here right now you have begun the process of winning.
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Fantastic News – Crowell Basketball
KEY STATEMENT: As Deuteronomy suggests, write it on your forehead, place a string around your forehead, so you never forget what God has given you in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Remember this!
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95 to 5 or 5 to 95?
Key Statement: On average the human mind is engaged 95% of the time in the subconscious mind and only 5% in the conscious mind.
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Listen – Learn – Act (Lla)
Key Statement: If you don’t listen you can’t learn; if you don’t act you will not learn. “A lesson not learned is a lesson repeated.” -Dr.
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Rule of 6
“Learning important truth principles is like mining for gold because life truths are more precious than much fine gold and silver.” -FC Rule of 6 is a precious life truth more precious than gold and silver.
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15 Minutes
“Such a short period of time, yet so difficult to set aside too be still, to be quiet.” Often I told my dear friend, who is racked with MS pain and needs help with things like transportation and…
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90 Days – 20 Percent
Of all creation, the human is the grandest creation all. Nothing compares to woman and man; not the great animals of Africa, the mighty oceans of the earth, not the miraculous rivers and mountains, not the moon hanging…
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So Hard, to So Easy
Hard work pays off 14 plus years ago in the birthing room at Sacred Heart Hospital, the doctors went into emergency mode hoping to save Ariana Alexis Crowell / Ferch’s new life.
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The Secret of Silence
“Be still and know that I am God.” A friend likes to tell me, “I am going to do nothing today, and I don’t plan to start until noon.” About 17 years ago, I began the interior journey.…
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Self-discipline Is Your Friend If You Have It, but Your Worst Enemy If You Don’t Have It!
Photo: Papa Crowell delights in watching children; especially his grandchildren develop the prized self-discipline in their young lives. Why? Because S.D. is a tool to solve a problem.
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Be a Living Sacrifice Not a Dead One
I plead with you brothers and sisters These strong words by St. Paul to his Brothers and Sisters in Rome were written in times similar to the pain and suffering we see too often these days.
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The Dumbing Down of America
“You either rise up and cross the bar, or you lower the bar to cross it.” Essentially, there are two ways in life to have success: 1. You get better, you compete and you excel. 2.
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So Easy
So easy has become the favorite expression after a shot is made among our amazing 15 year old Chinese boys Basketball team in Jiaozuo, China. An elegant question: When does so hard become so easy ?
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TIME TO BRAG – Time to be quiet
Until you become a grandparent you cannot understand the urge to brag to the point of ad nauseum about your grand children. No wonder we call them Grand .
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Crowell Basketball System
CROWELL BASKETBALL SYSTEM IF EXPECTATIONS DO NOT EXCEED OUTCOME, UNHAPPINESS IS THE RESULT. This is the reason a high majority of high school basketball players rate their experience as unhappy. Crowell has a solution!
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Where Are You?
The one good answer is right here, right now. At SEA-TAC while working on an intensely worded email, I lost track of time.
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Dress for Success
A wise practice each morning is to dress for success. The best way is to dress two times , not once! First, dress for the day to look your best for the jobs at hand.
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Finishing Mode Is a Decision
30 days ago, football experts had written off the Seattle Seahawks. Today the Hawks are one of the most feared football teams!
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The Elimination of Foolishness
The parable Matthew records in Chapter 25 uses the metaphor of ten virgins, that reminds me of a story of the miracle rescue of five men who crash landed in the Bering Sea on a return flight from…
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Hard Work Is Not Enough
Why is hard work not enough? Because love and passion bring meaning & purpose to HW? Why is meaning and purpose essential to hard work? Because if you love hard work your motivation will be inspired?
