We did our play “Lombardi” 14 years ago at Circle in the Square theater, one of the characters who people learned the most from was Marie Lombardi, Vince’s wife, played by the great Judith Light. Marie gave fans an insight into the persona of the Hall of Fame coach that few knew about, and it really helped give a look in to the mental make up of the man, especially as game weeks moved along during the Green Bay Packers championship runs.
I was reminded of one part of a story, off of the script written by Eric Simonson and the book “When Pride Still Mattered,” by the Pulitzer Prize winning author David Maraniss, when listening to Scott Simon on NPR’s “All Things Considered” on the topic of Pandemic Induced insomnia a few years ago. How does this tie to Vince Lombardi and my reminder?
In the interview, Simon and Jennifer Martin of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, talk about ways to overcome sleep brought on by anxiety, and Simon said one of his tricks is to reply plays in his head he remembers the great Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton running during his career. Martin followed that up by saying that mental distractions, or comfortable thoughts, are key to helping to bring on sleep during the most complex of times.
Back to Marie Lombardi and how this ties together. In the play, there is a dialogue where the Lombardi’s host parties in their basement on Sunday’s following Packers games where Vince is the life of the party, complimentary, loving, the perfect host. Then, Marie says, around 10 o’clock, as the place starts clearing out, he starts to turn, and starts the routine of looking ahead to the next game. That’s when the anxiety sets in, and the long Sunday night journey begins to Monday morning…anxiety filled as the work week starts and the joy of time past becomes a stomach-churning memory.
I bring this up because in talking to so many who have started out on their own, or are focused on projects, that the Sunday Night churn is real and alive. Sometimes it even goes to Monday into Tuesday. The flipping of a late switch where the past is the past and the near future and all of its anxiety becomes real, no matter how one tries to avoid it. It is the entrepreneur’s nightmare.
I know as I have had the “Agida” for over 17 years now on Sunday’s sometimes even into Mondays despite how well or successful things are. The end of the weekend, especially as days get shorter in the fall, rarely leads to a bright mental Monday morning at first. Once things get going and your mind hopefully rests to tell you that the world isn’t ending and the bright things are ahead, and you accomplish some tasks to start the week in a positive fashion, the ease sets in, but it doesn’t help when that 4 AM switch goes off. The Pandemic and other societal changes didn’t ease that churn for many people as well, so I get the feeling Marie talked about and Simon waxed on about. It is something that coaches probably have more than they care to admit, especially those whose seasons go weekend to weekend, like soccer and football.
Now have I suggested and found ways to get around that late night angst? Simon’s idea of running Walter Payton plays is similar to something else I do in my mind, which, along with reading, as always been a bit of a help. Trying to plan something early Monday…a breakfast, a trip, a car appointment, dropping kids off at school…has also been a good way to not dwell and get things going, as well as having some tasks lined up on a list and ready to go when Monday beckons. My colleague Buddy Biancalana and I also discussed it when we met this summer, as managing and expanding on the mental games we play is a big focus of his in his post MLB life. He has a great book coming out about his work soon and check out his business, Zone Motion, here.
Even with trying to figure it out, even if I KNOW things are good, for some reason that late night turn that the Lombardi’s experienced on Sunday’s still sits there and creeps up several times a month, especially as the seasons turn at the end of the year. It’s not something I have ever been able to really escape, but manage, so I took Simon’s thoughts this weekend more to heart than most reports. I get it, I have heard others who are out there seemingly on their own in the workplace say it, and it’s very real.
What’s also real is finding the way to manage it. Lombardi did some management of it with early morning meetings and a trip to church. It level set expectations and provided an outlet to get things going first. Running pleasantries through one’s head or keeping a list of accomplishments on hand vs a “to do” list, also works for some colleagues. Knowing one isn’t alone and finding an early morning colleague to call to jumpstart the day is also something else that has been mentioned as good for the mind and soul. Little tasks help take down the big anxiety as the week begins, much better than alcohol, or even warm milk the night before.
So, there you have it, Lombardi to Simon to a former MLB player to entrepreneurs and self-employed, or those in transition. The turning of the week isn’t easy, but if you embrace, find your way to cope, it becomes more manageable. Marie Lombardi would be proud.
