BLOG: It's Not A "Millennial Thing"

Andrew Luck opened a door this weekend. He opened a door that has previously been closed and locked with the key hidden buried 50 feet under ground and one knows where to find it. (Similar to the Jay Jerahian ball mark that was lost in a bunker a few weeks ago.)

But as a fellow friend went back to the bunker and meticulously combed through the fine sand, she found the cherished ball mark, so too did Luck. Luck dug deep in the ground, discovered the key, unlocked and opened a door that has been closed for a long time.

There has long been an understanding, especially in sports, that if you're not physically sick or ill you have to look like you have it together, but that is far from the case. And it is the millennials who have noticed and are taking action.

You see millennials are not all bad people (speaking as someone who is on the older side of the generation). Many millennials (not all of them) are consciously aware of themselves and what they want, and it makes them targets to older generations, who grew up in the age of "sit down, do your time and your time will come."

Millennials are misunderstood. They want to make a difference. They don't fear change, unlike some older generations, they embrace it. They embrace doing things a little bit differently that what was done before. Remember the most dangerous phrase in business is "we've always done it this way."

We're slowly starting to see the change. Locally, we saw it this summer with long-time Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna stepping down from his role within the organization in this well-crafted release.

On the professional level, we saw it first with Colin Kaepernick and his activism for "Black Lives Matter." Andrew Luck is now showing us that the belief that we need to be hyper-focused and super obsessed with our passions is actually hurting us as a society. With the increased development of artificial intelligence and technology, it benefits society greater to be more a more well-rounded person.

Sports has never been this way. Sports fans along with the majority of the athletes are all about the sport they play. It's their whole lives from the moment they open their eyes until they put their head down on the pillow at night. They live and breath the game. But it's unhealthy and one the reasons I, personally, don't like the term "sports" as well as the title "sports information director." It trivializes the activity and the profession and is the reason Barstool exists as an organization.

My preferred phrase is "athletics." It is a healthier term, bringing more prestige and awareness to the activities. Instead of using "sports" as an outlet to drink beer, use foul language, and gawk at scantily clad women in bars, use "athletics" as an outlet to improve your life. Participate recreationally with friends or family, instead of watching it on television and being a Twitter-analyst for people who really couldn't care less about your opinion.

Luck and Kaepernick are different from their colleagues. They both have lives and interests outside of football. The two are highly intelligent - Luck graduating from Stanford with a degree in architectural design and Kaepernick as deep political thinker and activist, he didn't score the highest score on NFL's Wonderlic test for no reason. Football is piece of their lives and who they are, not their entire life and does not define them as people. Many won't or can't understand this although most who read this post will.

The younger generation is coming and want change.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: "The Algebra of Happiness" by Scott Galloway

Remember sitting in middle school math class and saying to yourself "when am I ever going use algebra in real life?" Brace yourself folks, algebra is back - well, not quite, it's only in the title of the latest book I've picked off the shelf in Harvard Square. (Seriously, I may have a problem. Books are way too much fun. Wow! I bet none of my high school English teachers would ever imagine those words coming out of my mouth.)

It is NYU Stern School of Business professor Scott Galloway's second book. His first book was "The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google." Now, I haven't read that book yet, but since watching his Ted Talk on the subject is on the list of future books. Book number two is a little more introspective. He talks about his life and goes deep into truly finding happiness and what has made him happy.

Because he talks about his life and some deeply personal experiences everyone that reads it will take something different from it. It's a quick and easy read. It took me (a relatively slow reader) only two days to go through. I couldn't put it down.

Early on in the book I was able to draw a parallel to last week's book "Flow." Galloway talks about the correlation of money and happiness, mentioning money can only bring happiness up to a certain dollar amount (usually $75,000 annually). The true thing that makes people happy is finding the activities that bring joy (aside from mind altering substances like drugs or alcohol). These are interests and hobbies like playing basketball, going for a bike ride, cooking, reading, or whatever let's you get lost an activity for hours.

This concept is called 'flow.' Flow what a person experiences when doing something he/she loves and time seems to fly by. For a moment, think about yourself reading a novel. The book is so good you can't put it down and just have to keep turning the page. Before you know it, you look at the clock and it's 1 a.m. and you think "oh crap, I have to go to sleep, work is in six hours." That's flow. (Also that does happen when reading this book, which is why I finished it in two days.)

Book of the Week: "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

This week's book of the week is more upbeat than one of the previous ones. Sorry for the downer with "What Made Maddy Run," but I find it's a topic of mental health to be crucial as it pertains to all college students.

I began reading the book "Flow" a few weeks ago, but I'm still in the middle of it. I'm not a fast reader even though by all accounts it may seem like I am. The Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explores why certain experiences enjoyable, while others are not through a state of flow in his national bestseller.

To truly achieve the optimal experience in everyday life is difficult. The line chart on page 74 (image is below) explains the concept best. We achieve flow when our skill sets match our challenges. If our challenges are too high and our skill sets are weak, then we will experience anxiety; if our skills are too high, but our challenges are low, we will be bored. Neither one of these are optimal experiences. We want to be challenged in relation to where our skills are.

Think of it as though you were playing a game of tennis. You're a moderate player with average skills. If you were playing against a seven year old, you'd be bored because that seven year old does not possess the skills you do. But it works the other way, too. If you were playing against Serena Williams, you would be filled with anxiety because Serena is a professional tennis player and would more likely than not intimidate you and hit the ball THROUGH the chain link fence behind you on the serve.

Finding the flow experience is, matching your challenges to your skills.

This works in everyday life as well. When you are at work, you want to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. You never want to be the smartest person in the room. (Note: if you find out you are the smartest person in the room, then maybe it's time to find a new circle.) It was what made being Harvard last year and this past summer an optimal experience. I wasn't the smartest person in the room. Clearly! Working with people who are smarter and can bring new, innovative ideas to the table.

It also forces you to raise your standards. You wouldn't, necessarily, do the same things at Harvard that you may be able to get away with a place other that is not Harvard.

This leads me into my next concept. Because something is NOT Harvard / less prestigious does not mean 1. it's any less valuable 2. it also does NOT mean you should be any less professional and not set high standards. No matter where you are there should always be a set of standards you should be consistently aiming to push past them. It's the reason athletics / sports is so great.

Athletics is the optimal flow experience. There really is nothing better than to push through limitations to see what can be achieved. A pitcher is continually striving to strike out the more batters than in his previous outing. Golfers are aiming to improve their score from one day to the next. Even if they have a career day, athletes - across all levels - are constantly looking for ways to get better.

Tom Brady is a six time Super Bowl champion with four Super Bowl MVPs and three league MVPs, but he is still out working every single day. He see stills sees himself as that sixth round draft pick, still finds holes in his game - whether it is a poor throw, bad reads or his less than fast running ability and looks to improve. He's never satisfied.

And let me let you in to a little secret: the truly greats ARE never satisfied. They are constantly striving to be better.