This week I had the privilege of experiencing two tremendous demonstrations of teamwork — one in basketball, and the other in a music theatre production.

As I reported last week, I am a University of Kansas (KU) basketball fan. And my family and I enjoyed the experience of watching the game together this past Monday night. “Enjoyed” may not be the right word, at least not for the whole game, but the result created a magnificent celebration in our home. (It was one of those — this doesn’t happen very often in life so let’s enjoy it to the fullest!)

While much of the media attention has been on the shot made by Mario Chalmers in the last two seconds of regulation time (for those who don’t follow basketball, he made a long shot to tie the game and send it into overtime), but obviously the win was created by both a whole team effort and a series of events by a variety of team members. The combined defensive play on Memphis’ outstanding guards by Russell Robinson, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collison allowed KU to stay close throughout the game. Darrell Arthur’s game leading 20 points, along with the inside play of Sasha Kahn, Darnell Jackson and Cole Aldrich wore down the big men of Memphis to the point of exhaustion. The steals by Mario and Sherron down the stretch provided the opportunity to score and catch up at the end of regulation. And obviously, the coaching by Bill Self and his staff gave the players the instruction and guidance they used to build and regain the lead.

In spite of Chalmers’ amazing shot at the end, the emphasis all year has been on the balance of the Kansas team in scoring, in rebounding, and in leadership in various games. The season and the championship game were a prime example of how excellent teamwork leads to success. (Since this is such a discussed topic in the mainstream media I won’t expand further here.)

But let me turn to a less well-known example - the production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by the high school which my daughter attends. The school is relatively small (about 285 students) and there were 50+ high school students (plus about 20 elementary school students) in the production. What was amazing to me, as I watched the production “come together” over the past week, was the intricate synthesizing of numerous pieces into a unified amazing production. For weeks, the music department has been practicing the songs, the drama instructor has been “blocking” the scenes, the choreographer fashioned the dance steps and taught the chorus, costume designers created and made numerous costumes, while artists constructed the sets and scenery. Then in the last week, the “tech team” kicked into high gear — creating the lighting schemes and figuring out the sound systems. And then the drama and music directors integrated all of the pieces and players — with increasing polish each night — into a wonderful mutisensory experience of music, color and light, dance, humor.

Here are some pictures of Joseph, his brothers, and my daughter, Lizz (one of the narrators) taken by my good friend, Michael Bankston.

Both of these events were sources of joy to me (and others). And they were the results of countless hours of practice (not only in preparation for these specific events, but in the development of skills over the years) of both individuals and groups of people into the resulting product. And the comments by observers were the same: “Amazing!” “WOW!” “Can you believe it?” “Incredible.” “Outstanding.” “A once in a lifetime experience.”

The power of teamwork can be amazing — the culmination and synthesis of individual talent and skill, combined with creative and dynamic leadership, along with each team member being willing to follow directions and do their part, putting the purpose & goal of the team unit ahead of individual glory. And, interestingly, the glory which returns to the individual from being a part of the team, is greater than the person could have accomplished on their own.

Just ask Mario Chalmers.

Many of you may not know that I was born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas — where the University of Kansas is located. As a result, I grew up going to KU football and basketball games with my dad. And I continue to be a devoted Jayhawk (their mascot) fan.

So if you happen to follow college basketball, you know that we are in the midst of “March Madness” and the NCAA championship tournament. This weekend and Monday, April 7, are the final games in San Antonio. And it so happens that the University of Kansas basketball team will be playing in the championship game on Monday night, after winning their game on Saturday night against North Carolina. We watched the game with some friends and had a great time celebrating the win.

Interestingly, at the same time I am enjoying the KU basketball team winning games, I am also reading a fascinating book called Thrilled to Death: How the endless pursuit of pleasure is leaving us numb by Archibald Hart. I have read other books by Dr. Hart and have appreciated his insights. One of his premises in this book is that we are intensely seeking pleasurable experiences in our culture — to the point of burning out the “pleasure center” of our brain and eventually making it increasingly difficult for us to experience the pleasure we desire.

Dr. Hart then goes on to differentiate between happiness (or life satisfaction) and pleasure. He states, “Happiness does not depend on glitzy, pleasure-filled experiences. It comes more from a feeling of deep contentment or the appreciation of the finer things in your life. . . True happiness is more enduring than pleasure.” He goes on to share that happiness seems to be more related to relationships — a good marriage, close friends, and lots of time socializing with others.

So, how does this relate to basketball and KU playing in the NCAA Championship game? Well, I have often been dissatisfied with the tournament experience. Although it does provide a clear champion from the playoff tournament (as opposed to the college football system which does not), I have often felt a general distaste for the result — or at least the way the media and many people talk about the results — that there is only one “winner” (the champion). So, no matter how many games a team won throughout the season, no matter how well they played in spite of adversity, there is a message that they didn’t succeed enough because they didn’t “win it all”.

This just doesn’t sit right with me, when reflecting on how life really is. Are you only successful when you are at the top of the competition, with no one above you? And given the short time frame (one year maximum), you are only the champion for a short period of time (it is shorter in business.)

The personal application is this. I am enjoying the ride. It was fun to see KU win their league championship, and then the tournament games. Saturday night was a total hoot and I am still relishing the memory of seeing them play well. But if they lose Monday night, they aren’t “losers” — and my life won’t be wrecked. (This is not a ploy to play down expectations - they very well may win.) But for many people, and for myself in past years, “winning it all” is the only result that will result in happiness — which may speak to why so many people in our country are unhappy. If you have to be the best, if everything has to go your way for you to be happy, you will be unhappy most of your life.

Let’s go back to Dr. Hart and Thrilled to Death. He gives a number of suggestions which he calls “happiness boosters”. Let’s look at them and see how they really relate to deeper aspects of our lives than just temporary circumstances.

1. Intentionally do something unselfish for someone else every day.

2. Give yourself permission to make mistakes and quickly forgive yourself.

3. Give up expecting others to be perfect – just accept them as they are.

4. Whenever anyone offends, you forgive him or her without delay.

5. Try to simplify your life – do a make over from top to bottom.

6. Make sure you get enough sleep and exercise every day.

7. Spend as much time as you possibly can with those you love.

8. Spend twenty minutes each day in quiet reflection or meditation.

9. Each day, take a few minutes to write down all that worries you –and then cross out the ones you have no control over.

10. Every night before going to sleep, remind yourself of five things you are grateful for.

Clearly, these are not the typical highly pleasurable activities usually focused upon in our stimulation-seeking culture. But, as Dr. Hart argues, these are the types of activities that bring the deeper, longer lasting pleasure associated with true happiness.

So, if you watch the KU-Memphis game on Monday night, think of me. And when you go to bed, regardless of who wins, think of those five things for which you are grateful.

Emotional intelligence, Feelings, Happiness, KU basketball, NCAA 2008 mens basketball tournament, Optimism, personal development, Positive psychology, Stress management