Mindset story: The woodcutter who gave up

It was the finals of the national high school basketball game and for the first time in their history, a team from a small town was facing the last year’s champions and this year’s favorites. It was a “David versus Goliath” match-up. Everyone was talking about the two teams and how the small-town team already pulled off a miracle and even if they gave up now as they faced such a superior opponent everyone would praise them for what they have achieved. Even the parents and other teachers from the small town high school were trying to “calm down” their players by telling them they had achieved enough and it doesn’t matter if they win or lose. In other words, they were quietly giving the team permission to give up. On the other hand, the coach kept on emphasizing that they can win and that they should never give up. He tried to motivate his team by pointing out that what they had achieved was earned with their hard work and was not something they were given and in no way should they ever give up until the game is over. But when the game started the team from the small town was not playing as they knew how to. It was like they gave up before the game had even started. So it was not long before they fell far behind and when it was halftime they were already 20 points behind. At the halftime break, everyone on the team was expecting the coach to yell at them, but he did the opposite. He calmly talked to…