Football is on my mind. Makes sense, with Super Bowl LIV set to explode in Miami this weekend. The Super Bowl isn’t the point of this post, although, full disclosure: I am originally from Kansas City and am totally gaga over our AFC Championship team.

My Facebook and Twitter feeds are blowing up with Kansas City Chiefs insane enthusiasm, so of course, football is on my mind. I’ve bought the shirt, the hat and the earrings. The Super Bowl party decorations have been delivered and the cake has been ordered.

But the real reason why football is on my mind is because of a miniscule part of the game, one that I can’t stop thinking about. It’s actually a penalty, one that doesn’t get called often, especially not when an immensely-talented quarterback like Patrick Mahomes is managing a game.

The penalty is intentional grounding.

The 2019 National Football League Rulebook has this to say about the penalty, “It is a foul for intentional grounding if a passer, facing an imminent loss of yardage because of pressure from the defense, throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion.”

The two words, forward pass, are critical to the NFL’s definition. But what do they mean? Simply put, a forward pass describes when the quarterback throws the football in the direction his team is advancing, toward the defensive team’s end zone.

But, you may be thinking, when a quarterback throws the football doesn’t it always go forward?

While the object is to move as far into the opponents’ territory as possible–the end zone is optimal–the ball isn’t always thrown forward to accomplish the goal, which can be confusing. Sometimes, in fact, often times, quarterbacks use trick plays that may actually go backward before they go forward.

One of the things I love about football is that the game is a metaphor for life.

We all throw daily forward passes to successfully move into what may seem like oppositional territory (Think city council meetings, board meetings, PTA meetings) so that we can “score.” Scoring can mean all kinds of things, from convincing your council people that tearing up the sidewalks in front of the shopping mall at Christmas time is a really bad idea, to hearing that your triple-chocolate brownie recipe won first place at the PTA bake-off.

Our forward passes are the decisions which affect how well we move through our days. And we often have to pull off a few trick plays in order to call it a successful day, not unlike the good quarterbacks (like my beloved Patrick Mahomes).

Back to the NFL’s intentional grounding penalty and how it serves as a metaphor for living. Put yourself in a quarterback’s shoes for a moment. You’re throwing a forward pass, while facing an imminent loss. Doesn’t that feel like a last-ditch, oh-crap moment of desperation? One when you hope-beyond-hope that the referee (also known as your boss!) is looking the other way?

In real life you go into work one Monday knowing a major report is due. You’ve been working your butt off to get it done but your dog got sick over the weekend, your car battery died and the internet was out. You need a major forward pass, while facing an imminent loss. Except the report is due at 5 pm and you really don’t have a realistic chance of completion. You know it’s not finished but you “throw” it anyway.

And get penalized when your boss calls you into her office. Flag on the play!

Now, I’m a 50-something woman with a bad back and knees, so my days of playing sports, anything beyond walking my dogs, are distant memories. But I do quarterback my life, moving it forward with passes that sometimes lead to scores and sometimes lead to the proverbial penalty.

Here’s a secret: Sometimes after heaving the ball of life, I discover that my erroneous choices don’t cause intentional grounding but are because of not being intentionally grounded.

See the difference? Intentional grounding may up-end a football team’s drive down the field but in life, intentional grounding solidifies a person’s drive toward a really good day.

How? With practice. My friend Beth says practice is everything. I have a go-to list of forward passes that I practice every day. Meditation. Writing. Walking contemplation. Spiritual conversation with heart-connected friends. Any and all of them provide grounding and, in order to be effective, must be intentional.

My practice of grounding must also be laser-focused because I get distracted easily. That’s why meditation is critical for me. Every morning. My first-thing practice, after turning on the coffee pot, is mantra meditation. If I have an early-morning appointment, my practice shifts to a walking meditation with my dogs where I focus only on them. I try to see and experience the morning through them.

The benefits of intentional grounding are endless. Overall, though, an intentional grounding practice is a great connector to one’s work, friends, colleagues, nature, and to God. Grounding practices minimize stress, calm the mind and sharpen the thought process.

Now, back to football: hone your practice techniques, make your adjustments and create a game plan that is intentionally grounded. Your life is your Super Bowl Championship Game, so hit it with everything you’ve got!

Image used with permission from @colinericbraley, Braley Photography