This was the response Danny Green, of the Toronto Raptors, said to a reporter who asked what he was going to do to get break out of his current shooting slump. It’s a common response given by many basketball players who are experiencing a slump of success. In fact, it’s a common response in hockey, football/soccer, and all sports – just keep showing up, believing in yourself, and trying. In other words, don’t give up.

Weirdly we tend to applaud this in sports, we tend to expect it. They are professionals after all.

We all go through slumps in our lives, at work, at home, in our projects and in our ‘hobbies’. We are human after all. It’s not if we will experience a slump, but when. So our response to the slump matters.

Perhaps we need to decide to “Turn Pro” in our work, in our lives. To keep shooting, keep showing up to keep giving. This is not the easy choice; the easy choice is to give up, to sit on the bench or in the stands. Turning Pro means getting dirty; it means being the person in the arena who is marred by dust, sweat and blood.

One more side note. The fact that you keep shooting is no guarantee that you will break out of the slump; the fact you are in the arena trying is no guarantee of victory. Success is never guaranteed, but it gives you a chance to succeed; if you stop shooting you guarantee the slump continues and there is no option to succeed. The choice is yours; I’m off to take some shots.