Feeling Fear, and Acting on It

As long as a team is winning, everything is great, right? Who wants to change a system or work on player dynamics or adjust defensive assignments when the squad is rolling? But then, somehow, the team loses. Bad luck? Too cocky? Not focused? Just a bad night? Whatever the case, there may be some blaming -- especially if the unit isn't truly tight. Sometimes, negativity subtly breathes underneath winning -- and then, when the moment seems right for it to pop its head out -- whoop. There it is.The pointed finger, the belligerent, "I told you so", the "Why wasn't my number called?"... and suddenly, all of those wins don't mean too much. According to an article in the New York Times, people want to change things at the first itch of a downward spiral.“With negative emotions we tend to have a desire to change the situation,” said Ellen Peters, a senior scientist at Decision Research in Eugene, Ore. But “when things are good there is not much desire to chan...