"Another way to lose control is to ignore something when you should address it"
About this Quote
Control doesn not always slip through dramatic failure; it leaks through avoidance. Jim Evans frames that leak with an athlete's plainspoken clarity: you "lose control" not only by doing the wrong thing, but by refusing to do the right thing at the moment it matters. The line reads like locker-room wisdom, but its bite comes from how it flips a common coping strategy. Ignoring a problem feels like staying calm, staying above it, staying in charge. Evans calls that bluff. The choice to look away is already a concession of authority, a quiet handoff of the steering wheel to chance, resentment, or entropy.
The specific intent is corrective: address it now, because time does not stay neutral. In sports, small evasions metastasize quickly: a nagging injury that becomes a tear, a missed rotation that becomes a run, a simmering teammate conflict that turns into a fractured season. The quote is effectively about tempo and accountability, the unglamorous discipline of making the uncomfortable play before the game makes it for you.
Subtextually, it's also a critique of ego. Ignoring issues is often self-protection: avoiding blame, preserving a self-image, ducking confrontation. Evans suggests the opposite: real control is the willingness to enter the mess, name it, and take the hit early.
Culturally, it lands beyond the field because modern life rewards distraction. Evans offers a counter-ethic: attention as agency, discomfort as a form of leadership.
The specific intent is corrective: address it now, because time does not stay neutral. In sports, small evasions metastasize quickly: a nagging injury that becomes a tear, a missed rotation that becomes a run, a simmering teammate conflict that turns into a fractured season. The quote is effectively about tempo and accountability, the unglamorous discipline of making the uncomfortable play before the game makes it for you.
Subtextually, it's also a critique of ego. Ignoring issues is often self-protection: avoiding blame, preserving a self-image, ducking confrontation. Evans suggests the opposite: real control is the willingness to enter the mess, name it, and take the hit early.
Culturally, it lands beyond the field because modern life rewards distraction. Evans offers a counter-ethic: attention as agency, discomfort as a form of leadership.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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