by Michael Holland     

The commute home from work is the transition time when men leave the work world for the home world.  Most men seem to feel that there is a magical amount of time needed to make this transition, and some tell me they need a bit longer:  maybe they take an extra turn to drive the longer way home, or stop the car a mile away just to take one more minute.

The problem with this is that men often misunderstand what this transition time is for and where it comes in their day.  They see being at home as something to survive before crashing into bed.  They’ve worked hard all day, given 100% of their energy, and been “on” all day to make sure they’re satisfying “the man”.  They’ve used all their patience on employee or customer issues.  They’re emotionally spent.

Man up already! Your work day is merely the first half of your game.

The commute home is halftime, a time for you to rejuvenate and prepare to dig deep to give your all in the second half.   So what that your tired, that you had all these “tough” meetings throughout the day, and that you had to slay some dragons and appease all those different people?

You’ve got to play 100% of the WHOLE game each day.

You have to leverage halftime to re-adjust your game plan, to focus your effort on the plays you will execute in the second half, to visualize how you will defeat your opponent and run for victory with your family.  The second half is the most important half of the day.

The great football coach Vince Lombardi would often tell his players to “run with complete abandon, and when you get close to the goal, let nothing stop you from getting across”. Your family – and you – deserves your best. You must be at full capacity when you walk through the door at home.  It doesn’t matter how the first part of the game went; you’ve taken your halftime, adjusted your game plan, and you are ready to dig deep and let nothing stop you from reaching your goal for the day.