The lyrics and melody came out of nowhere and took me by surprise on a retro journey to the mid-1960’s and the classic film, The Sound of Music.

The music and words played silently, reverberating in the theater of my thoughts:

Let’s start at the very beginning

A very good place to start.

When you read you begin with A-B-C.

When you sing you begin with Do-Re-Mi.

I have seen this movie dozens of times and it most certainly is in my Top Five films of all time.

What is the purpose of the mental trip back in time now and with these lyrics?  

There are times in all of our lives where to move forward we need to step backward.

In short, a return to an elementary existence and adopting a “back to the basics” approach is warranted.

If we are honest with ourselves, the daily pace many of us experience moves at breakneck speed on the Autobahn called our lives.

We rush from one thing to the next and in time, we lose sight of the shore instead of relying on old fashioned common sense and a basic approach to life to see us through.

Football season is now in full swing, with high school, college, and professional teams nearing the end of their training camps and preseason drills, each preparing for their soon-to-be gridiron aspirations.

Most assuredly, many teams are operating under a “back to the basics” philosophy as they put the former season in the rear view mirror and embrace the here and now, as the new season is about to begin.

Their team success depends upon it.

One of the most memorable times of my life was coaching the Meadowbrook Christian School Lady Lions basketball team from 1995 through 2005.

What a hoot it was!

The program started in 1995 with a team of young ladies eagerly wanting to try their hand at hoops. We were basketball’s version of the Bad News Bears!

I started out with declaring “the ball is orange” and the goal is to put the ball “in the round thingy up there with the net attached”.

A “back to the basics” statement if there ever was one!

In our first year, we only won one game and lost consistently by scores along the lines of 71-8, 61-3, and so on.

The post-game gatherings resembled a group counseling session, myself and the assistant coach doing double duty as therapists!

Many of the young ladies cried and placed blame on themselves with statements like, “We’re no good”, “We stink”, or “We’re a bunch of losers.”

It was a challenge to help them see something positive.

We went through plenty of Kleenex!

As time progressed, gals graduated, and new players emerged we actually became respectable as a team.

Basketball is a complex game with many things happening simultaneously.

However, no matter how complex it may appear, playing the game successfully is comprised of some basic, elemental components.

As with any team there are ups and downs, peaks and valleys.

Whenever we hit a tailspin as a team, the rule of thumb was oriented around a “back to the basics” mentality.

• We would practice dribbling.
• We would practice passing.
• We would practice boxing out and defending.
• We would practice rebounding, running the fast break, and improving our conditioning.
• We would practice communicating one to another, allowing for teammates to understand what was going on.

I don’t know about you, but I sure can use a measure of “back to the basics” to shore up my game.

It is incumbent upon me to do so to move forward.

• In the husband department, a dose of saying “please” or “thank you”, holding the car door open, communicating with Jackie beyond the words “Uh-huh, Yep, and I dunno”, or spending time with my wife without the TV on might all be in order.
• Maybe I should go back to our dating days and win her heart (again) versus taking her for granted at times  – Ouch!
• It might be good to reintroduce the word SIMPLIFY into my vocabulary.
• Many plates are swirling in my world at the moment and all of them need some attention. It might be good to eat the elephant one bite at a time instead of trying to go at him in one big gulp.

If you have similar things happening in your world, what is the solution?

Could it be as easy as declaring, “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start?”

It might seem overly simplistic.

However, the journey of a thousand miles as we are told, all begins with the initial step.

My encouragement to you is this slow down, adopt a “back to the basics” mentality, hit the reset button, and move forward.

What is going on in your world where a dose of “back to the basics” might be the Rx you’re looking to administer?

 Photo Courtesy of Photo Dropper