Steve Nash has been an inspiration to me since the first time I saw him play, live, at the Staples Center years ago. I recently read a great article about him in Sports Illustrated. What struck me was Stoudemire’s statement here about how success on the court manifests — through creative vision and seeing. “When you have creative minds, you get involved in different sports, in different cultures, and it allows you to open up on the basketball court and just be yourself. Steve’s a heck of a soccer player. He’s one of those skateboard guys. For the most part, you want to be yourself. Being yourself allows you to play better, to have more fun. It opens up your spirit.”

Take a moment to assess how open you are to what’s going on around you. What energy are you leaving on the table? How engaged are you in a variety of activities that can lead to greater creativity right now? If you notice a bit of tunnel vision taking over, choose another path for a day or two each week. Opening up our spirit helps us to open up and see more opportunities to play in a bigger world.  Playing a targeted and competitive game results in a win, but diversifying yourself and expanding your skills and awareness ‘sharpens the saw’ and keeps our aliveness fresh.