Podcast: Are You Checking Your Sunshine or Your Shoeshine?

EPISODE 155

I previously did another blog post and podcast about some of the philosophies of the legendary football coach of the Green Bay Packers in the 1960’s, Vice Lombardi.

There is a series entitled “A Football Life” on the NFL network on cable television.

In part one, in an episode entitled “Lombardi Saves the Franchise” there is an interview with the NFL Hall of Fame football player, Jerry Kramer.

Jerry Kramer played the guard position on offensive line for the Green Bay Packers teams in the 1960’s. Jerry was sharing on the show how when he was being yelled at by Coach Lombardi for doing something incorrectly in practice or a game he would frequently be “checking his shoeshine.”

In other words, Jerry had has head down and was looking at his feet because he was feeling discouraged,. He had lost his confidence and enthusiasm because he was being yelled at so often. He was being yelled at so often, he was sure he was going to be cut from the team and was wondering what he was going to do with the rest of his life.

I have a friend Kimo Mahikoa, from Kauai, Hawaii.

Kimo told me one time during a class I was taking on Kauai that if you are feeling down for any reason, you will always start to feel better if you “check your sunshine.”

When you are feeling discouraged, ask yourself are you “checking your sunshine or your shoeshine?”

Stephen Lesavich, PhD

How do you check your sunshine instead of your shoeshine?