ENERGY is a Game Changer (Literally)!

You have not lived until you've stood in Memorial Stadium on a blackout night with 85,000 Husker fans screaming in unison like it's the freaking Super Bowl, the apocalypse, and a family reunion all wrapped up in one. That was me last Saturday! They modified the field and the lighting. The scarlet-blooded fans showed up in all black. Watching Nebraska take on USC under the lights was probably the coolest game-day experience I've ever had at Memorial Stadium! Y'all, Lincoln on game days is not hype - it is truly a phenomenon. The energy is absolutely electric!

 

But then - just like that, the energy shifted.

 

Our quarterback, Dylan Raiola, got injured and pulled from the game. You could almost feel the silence in the stadium. The fans were still there, but the sound dropped like dead weight. The team looked tired...not only physically, but like they'd been punched in the gut. To me, that was a coachable moment...to both our players and our fans. Unfortunately, it's what happens when people are worn out from carrying disappointment for too many years.

 

Real quick, let's roll forward to Sunday. The volleyball game - same town, same fans, but this time the energy never wavered for a second. Nebraska was playing Oregon and, let's be honest, it wasn't a high stakes match. That being said, the crowd still showed up loud, focused, and fully engaged. These women have now won 40 straight sets (WHAT, Yes...that is a 4 0!). That's the kind of energy that doesn't depend on a scoreboard. That is a program built on confidence, consistency, and culture.

 

Ok...now let's go back to Saturday night. I heard a lot of disappointing comments and, honestly, uttered a few myself. Things like: "We should've won that game." "We could've won!" "They should've left Raiola in." "We just can't seem to figure out how to WIN!" At the same time, all those things FELT true. However, once the frustration settled and the emotions cooled, something shifted. The same people who were ready to throw in the towel were suddenly pointing out that we held USC to fewer points than anyone had all season. That's not nothing! That is exponential growth! That's PROGRESS! THAT deserves to be recognized and celebrated.

 

Here's what happens - our first reactions, especially the emotional ones, are almost always short-sighted. They're driven by adrenaline, disappointment, ego, and fear. When given just a little time, reflection takes place, and it changes our perception. It doesn't change the facts - it changes the framing. It gives us room to recognize where things are actually headed, not simply where they are today.

We do this constantly in our day-to-day lives.

 

We cook a meal that flops, immediately decide we aren't worthy in the kitchen, and declare takeout as our new way of life. A few days later, we realize it actually tasted much better than our last attempt - the chicken wasn't raw, the sauce wasn't scorched and we had, in fact, gotten better at cooking. Growth.

 

We give a presentation, trip over a few words, and immediately tell ourselves we are terrible at public speaking. Later that week, we remember how we once panicked just thinking about standing up in front of people. Now, we can handle a mic and a slideshow, and actually provide valuable content. Progress.

 

We send an email that doesn't land quite right. We make an awkward comment in a meeting. We forget to follow up on something. Whatever it may be, we are left convinced we aren't cut out for leadership. Then again, given time we realize those moments don't define our trajectory. They do, however, teach us something.

 

Energy matters! BUT...what we do after the energy shifts is what shapes us!

 

We can't compare yesterday's faults to yesterday's successes. That's not how growth works. We have to compare yesterday's faults to last week's, last month's, last years. That's when we see what is actually changing. That's when we identify growth and trajectory.

 

Here is my takeaway for today: give yourself the grace to reflect before you react. Sit with the discomfort for a minute. Let your considered thoughts rise above the reactive ones. That's where the learning lives. That's momentum.

 

Truth is, we are not the Husker team from the championship years. Not yet. We are also not where we were last year or three years ago or five years ago. We are somewhere in between. Progress and frustration can be true at the same time.

 

That's the lesson most of us miss.

 

We expect growth to feel like winning. Sometimes it just feels like less losing. Sometimes it means holding USC to fewer points than anyone else, even if you still walk off the field without the win. Sometimes it means walking out of a meeting knowing you could've said it better - but at the same time knowing you said something you wouldn't have had the confidence to say a year ago. That's the look of improvement.

 

It's slow. It's sometimes subtle. It's easy to miss when you're only looking at outcomes. However, when you pause, reflect, and look back with clearer vision, you start to see how far you've really come.

 

Sooooo...next time the energy drops, the wheels come off, or the crowd goes quiet, resist the urge to call it a failure. Give the experience some space and let your considered self catch up to your reactive one.

 

That is how we learn to trust the process over and over. That is how we build belief. That is how things shift, from tired to resilient, from almost to legit badassery.