Three Ways We Outsmart Ourselves Like Pete Carroll

Last updated on: February 3, 2015 at 6:33 am by Josh Daffern

Three Ways We Outsmart Ourselves Like Pete Carroll 2015-02-03T06:33:33-06:00 Josh Daffern

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People are still talking about the Super Bowl. That last play call for Seahawks’ coach Pete Carroll will haunt him forever. With the Superbowl on the line, Pete Carroll needed one more yard to secure a victory for his team. Really it was a half yard. His star running back, Marshawn Lynch, had been productive against the Patriots and could have picked up a yard falling forward. To armchair play callers around the country, Pete Carroll had one of three options for that last play:

1). Give the ball to Marshawn Lynch.

2). Give Marshawn Lynch the ball.

3). Just give him the ball already.

Instead, Carroll called for a pass play that was intercepted in the end zone. Game, season, championship over. As expected, he’s getting raked over the coals this week for making the simplest play in the world too complicated. He outsmarted himself, and it cost him a Super Bowl championship.

But while we’re looking down from our high horse, let’s remember there are three common ways we outsmart ourselves in life:

1. We believe all these complex theories about how man came to be when the simplest answer will always be that we were created by an Intelligent Creator. The infinite complexity and expanse of creation screams out that there is a Creator. You can argue about molecules and Big Bangs, but it would be like you arguing that the iPhone in your pocket was created spontaneously from a random explosion of molecules. The more complex the creation, the more that screams for a Creator. We were created by an Intelligent, All-Powerful God. Let’s not overcomplicate that.

2. We neglect those we love in pursuit of fame, money, power, and success when the most important thing will always be family. All those things are nice, but at the end of the day, it’s about family. It’s how God created it to be. If friendships, careers, hobbies, pursuits or toys get in the way of your family, then those things have to go. It will always be about family. That’s where the greatest joy and most lasting happiness in life will always spring from.

3. There are always consequences to our actions. We love to live like we’re the exception to the rule. We can cheat and not get caught. We can slack off and not pay a price. We can dabble without getting addicted. We can overextend without falling into debt. But what goes around always comes around. If we play with fire, eventually we’re going to get burned. Our choices have consequences, and those consequences matter.

In the midst of an overly-complicated world, remember the deeper truths about life: God, family, choices. You’d hate to get to the one yard line and squander it all because you outsmarted yourself.

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