Phillies Hall of Fame slugger Mike Schmidt’s most famous quote about Phillies fans reveals a complex relationship but he had an odd way of crediting them with helping drive him to greatness, stating, “Philly fans helped drive me”.

“Philadelphia is the only city, where you can experience the thrill of victory … and the agony of reading about it the next day”.

It makes you wonder: do we sometimes steal our own joy, downplaying our triumphs before anyone else can? Maybe the real work isn’t just winning — it’s learning to celebrate what we’ve earned. Before we rush to the next challenge, we should fight to hold onto the thrill of what we’ve already conquered.

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I watched a Flyers game against the mighty Edmonton Oilers the other night – it was close until the Flyers scored a goal within the last 30 seconds to win 2 to 1 – the coaches high-fived each other and the players on the bench were jubilant except, they didn’t win the game.

One of their players was offside and the goal was taken back.  The game went to overtime and the Flyers were the ones to lose 2 to 1.  Often, the celebration begins too early in life for whatever reason and a win sometimes turns into a loss.  The Flyers coach said he was proud of his players.

But there’s something strangely useful about moments like that. They remind us of how fast things can flip — and how quickly we can recover, reset, and take another shot. The goal didn’t count, but the energy was real. Sometimes the near-win is what sharpens you for the one that actually sticks.

As Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver said back in the day “The moment you think you’ve got it made, you’ve made a big mistake.”

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I am encouraged by the fact that the college students I work with are not big fans of artificial intelligence (AI).  They are music majors who have seen the rise of fake singers on Spotify and many worry whether the humanity of song writing and singing will survive this moment.

AI is here to stay – how much it reshuffles our lives, we cannot say.  The human touch, the need for emotion that is so far largely absent from AI bots is the case to be made for human beings.

“Now And Then” — the last Beatles track, revived via AI from John Lennon’s demo—snagged a Grammy for Best Rock Performance, blending tech with raw human emotion to honor legacy.

AI amplifies humanity’s irreplaceable soul, not erases it—your students’ worries fuel the fight to keep authenticity front and center.  AI makes a lot of mistakes but even if it attains perfection, keeping authenticity front and center is the antidote to artificial.

“AI as a tool in music-making is fine, but it’s always going to be the humanity in music that makes people want to listen to it.” — Jacob Collier, Grammy-winning composer.

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You can waste a lot of energy trying to live in the future.  It sounds great, but it has drawbacks.  I see young college students obsessed with their futures and hoping to be successful, but they get trapped – the economy, layoffs, fewer internships, pay.

Don’t let your mind get ahead of itself.  It’s the present that counts.  You will deal with what comes next on that day. The future depends on how you handle today. That keeps you more in charge.

The past is a file to refer to, relive or learn.

The future is a blueprint – remember, blueprints are updated and changed constantly so it is nothing more than a tool.

Now is currency – it’s all we have and it’s a better place to reside – less anxiety, more happiness.

Greek Philosopher Epictetus said “The present moment is the only time over which any of us have any power.”

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I’ve often said I come from a long line of worriers – my mom being the chief and I have battled it all my life.  When you worry, it is usually based on non-discrimination – in other words – worry about everything.

Recently a friend told me how he fights the good fight taking the time to give himself credit for how good he really is at solving problems (worriers rarely give themselves credit for victories they have).  I have known him for a long time and he rattled off the many ways I have handled challenges large and small over the years.

I’m sharing this because I have not been able to get this out of my mind – how we actually are good at solving problems.  I guess, we’re so busy adding new worries that we don’t take the time to appreciate our own resilience.

One key – live in the present with the skills that we’ve somehow honed in our lives. We never know what happens tomorrow, so don’t focus on tomorrow — just today.

“You’ve survived 100% of your worst days so far. Remember that.”

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has been on the hot seat for taking what appears to be a cautious approach to artificial intelligence – the stock has been punished, doubts exist that they may be left behind in the AI boom yet the company just reported record profits, sold a lot of new iPhones in just one week.  The Apple Watch seemed like a flop until it caught on using a focus on health not time or connectivity.  The popular ear buds were a joke when they came out but they are considered a must have – a new iteration is even better.

So, which is right?  Is it better to be first or best?

Trying hard to keep up, stand out or remain ahead is distracting – it causes mistakes, lost vision of the future and simple answers to complex problems.

Then there is this:  “Speed is irrelevant if you’re going in the wrong direction.” — Mahatma Gandhi

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That is the wonderful description by health advocate Arianna Huffington – the voice that puts us down, strengthens our insecurities and doubts.  It comes out most when we’re stressed, and our guard is down.  Making resilience the goal is a partial answer.  It makes us more able to handle moments when we start to doubt ourselves.

Joining a health club or paying attention to physical health has many benefits but it’s often difficult to see the importance of building resilience as if it was a muscular thing.  I see this all the time with young college students who are quick to blame themselves if something goes wrong.  I can smell mid-terms and finals a mile away.

Vincent van Gogh put it in a most memorable way:  “If you hear a voice within you say ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

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Dr. Amit Sood reminds us that it is not just what we say to each other that matters, it’s how we say it and doggone it, he makes an example of his dog. If he said “Simba, you won’t get any treat today” or “Simba, you are a bad dog” in a kind and loving voice, Simba will continue wagging his tail. But if he tells Simba he’s the best dog in the world in the meanest voice, Simba would cower down.

Sometimes the way we say things is even more important than what we say.  “When you speak harshly to yourself, you stimulate the same brain areas that activate when the brain experiences bullying”.  We actually bully ourselves!

One workaround is to smile with your eyes during the day – it’s difficult to self-bully when your eyes are smiling or as Dr. Sood says “Speak to yourself as you would to someone you love—because you are.”

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The phrase “touch grass” is internet slang used to tell someone they’ve been online too long, are too deep in digital arguments or drama, and need to step away from the screen to reconnect with real life.

It’s a gentle insult wrapped in good advice — suggesting that someone has drifted too far into virtual worlds or echo chambers and could use a little real-world grounding. A bit of sunlight, a walk outside, or just literally touching grass might help them reset.

I teach college students who have no problem turning off their phones — most don’t like that they spend about 93 minutes a day on TikTok.

But there’s another way to escape the pull of screens in a world where you can’t live or work without them: stay busy. Fill your time with things that matter offline, and you’ll touch grass without even thinking about it.

“Simply put, humans are not wired to be constantly wired.” — Cal Newport 

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During the recent Amazon Web Services outage, more than 1,000 web-based products were affected not the least of which was internet dependent beds – the kinds that cost thousands of dollars and allow temperature control and positional variations.  From an X post via ars technica) “Would be great if my bed wasn’t stuck in an inclined position due to an AWS outage. C’mon now.”

From Reddit: “I woke up too hot in the middle of the night last night and kept double-tapping like a maniac to adjust the temperature down since I wasn’t getting any haptic feedback. I only found out why after I got up in the morning.”

We are hopelessly tethered to the Internet – imagine not being able to adjust a smart bed into a smart comfortable position.

Consumers can start by asking one question before buying anything “smart”: What happens if the internet goes down?

Present Shock author Douglas Rushkoff was right:   “We are being programmed by the very devices we program.”

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