Years ago I wrote a blog post about why I’m no longer a sports fan. It’s one of those blog post that I knew didn’t fit with my usual content, but it was something that was on my mind. While I’m not claiming to have gone back to my hard-core fan days, I will admit that I’ve gotten caught up in Toronto Raptors fever. This post isn’t about the awesomeness of the team of how cool I think it is to have them in the finals. This is more about the fact that I now truly understand what home court advantage is and that’s what I want to talk about today.
As I was watching the start of the game and it was pure energy from the start. The announcements of the starting lineup, the national anthem with the entire stadium singing; you couldn’t help but get caught up in the excitement and the game hadn’t even started yet! As I was watching all of this and realizing that this was a huge part of home court advantage, it made me wonder how I could create something like that in my own life.
How can we create our own home court advantage when it comes to our lives? To me, home court advantage is all about being in an environment that supports and encourages your success. It not just about the screaming fans, it’s about being surrounded by people who believe in you and are cheering for your success. If you’ve ever watched any sporting event, there are moments when it feels like the fans willed the success of the home team. Whether it’s a ball that bounces off the rim and miraculously finds it way to going through the hoop or a gravity defying move that a player makes that pushes the home team into the lead; there always seem to be those moments that leave us wondering how did that happen?
We want the same sort of magic in our own lives, without the thousands of cheering fans. I think that it’s all about cultivating an environment that supports you in creating the life you want. It’s about making sure that you feel supported in the places where you spend the most time. Figure out what makes you happy and find a way to incorporate more of that into your life.
I love to listen to music. I have play lists that I play according to the mood I want to set for the day. I have a mellow set for when I need to be more contemplative and reflective and another one for those days when I need an energy boost and a kick in the pants to step outside my comfort zone. I have positive quotes and affirmations in my office and lots of plants in my home. I’m constantly working at making my home feel like a place that empowers me to be my best self. That’s what I think home court advantage looks like for me.
What would home court advantage look like for you? Would you need to meet with a mastermind group on a regular basis so that you feel supported and encouraged in the pursuit of your goals? Maybe it’s having a garden that you can spend some time in when you need to take your mind off of things. Think about what you need in order to feel like you’ve got what you need to successfully achieve your goals and start to create it.
For us non-athletes, our personal home court advantage probably won’t involve cheerleaders with matching outfits or a team song (though it could!). What I think it means is creating the environment that supports our success. Once you figure out what that looks like for you, start to create it and take full advantage of the edge you’ve given yourself!