Any of you ever played jacks when you were a kid? You know, the game with the little metal spikey things (see picture) and a super ball? Ringing any bells yet? Well for those of you that have, you know that it was pretty fun. My sister and I used to play jacks in the upstairs hallway when we were kids. It had nice hardwood floors so you could get a really good bounce. Of course the bounce went wild sometimes and headed off down the stairs, or the cat took off after it, but usually things went fine. I really liked playing that game with her and, if I may add, I usually kicked her butt (she will of course say otherwise!). Well I have a revelation for you. Jacks is like life... and if you give a few minutes, I can explain.
In order to make this work (and for those that aren't familiar with the game) let me explain. In jacks, the goal is to bounce the super ball off of the floor and while its still in the air, collect or grab a jack and then catch the ball before it hits the ground, using the same hand the whole time. The game starts at 1 jack per bounce and each time you're successful, you have to collect an additional jack per bounce, until ultimately, you have to collect like 15 or more in one bounce! Seems simple right? Well, at first it is but if you want to reach the upper echelons of the playground elite, there are certain methods you have to learn. Let’s go through them.
First, you need to analyze the jacks and carefully pick the one's you'll grab before you bounced the ball. This was key. This was even more critical at the higher rounds where you really had to analyze the jacks, take a few practice swipes above the jacks, and when you had it down, then bounce the ball. If you threw before you had analyzed the jacks, you would probably goof and either catch the ball a jack or two short, or the ball would drop while you were fumbling with the jacks. Sloppy sloppy sloppy. Go back to the cafeteria chump.
Second, throwing the ball was just as important as collecting the jacks. I learned that it was best to throw the ball close to the jacks you wanted to collect so you'd have the maximum time to grab them. If you bounced the ball too far away from the jacks, then you wasted valuable time just moving your hand to the jack and back. On the higher rounds if you did that you simply would not have enough time.
Finally, you also had to control the bounce. If you bounced the ball too hard you would lose sight of it while collecting your jacks and it would bounce off wildly somewhere. Or worse you went to bounce it and you hit a jack with it... rank amateur move there. AND it would cost you your turn. So the trick was to bounce with just the right oomph to keep it close and give you enough time to collect the jacks.
Now I know what your thinking. I bet your saying “ dude it’s only a kid’s game! Can’t be that complicated.” Well, yeah maybe but, if you want to beat little sally swiper on the playground ( you know, the girl with the velvet monogramed jacks bag) you had to go past simple and really hone your skills. So simple wasn’t so simple any more and you know what, that applies to a lot of things in life. Which coincidentally is why jacks is like life.
No Really!
Look at it this way.
The jacks are opportunities for action in your life. See a job opening? Applying for it is a jack. Gotta ask a girl on a date. Jack. Building a house. Jack. Getting married. Jack. Getting divorced... well maybe that’s dropping a jack (or throwing it back for some of you heh heh) but you get my point. Jacks are opportunities for action.
Like life you start out one or two jacks at a time. As you get older, you can tackle more and more jacks. And like life, some of us can only handle so much while others seem to be able to move mountains when they wish...
Now the ball, that is your momentum;your drive; your effort. And the level of the bounce is similar to the level of effort. For a jack or two it’s easy, you just do it. For a lot of jacks well, you need a hell of a lot more momentum to get going. Kind of like the difference between taking one class a semester and 5 high level classes; whole lotta difference in the effort required. You better bounce that ball pret-ty high my friend.
Where you place your momentum is important as well. If you focus your momentum, if you tailor your efforts to the tasks at hand, then you’ll usually fare well and come out well on the other side. If you just kind of wildly jump into stuff well, you probably won’t finish everything (come up a jack short) or you may start everything but run out of steam before you finish anything (get all the jacks but miss the ball). Scary huh?
And most importantly, momentum is temporary. It can’t last forever. Eventually the ball has to bounce and we have to regroup and start over. It’s just the way it is. So if you think about life in our little jacks analogy... life happens between the bounces. That’s where all the action is.
Between the Bounces.
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An excellent first posting. I really did enjoy reading your analogy. Good luck in future postings.
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog. Love the view point. Having known you for about 5 years I must say you play a hard game of Jacks. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo it's all about strategy & Risk, then, eh? ;)
ReplyDeleteLove the your first blog hubby. Although if you take Holly's suggestion and start discussing this as it relates to Risk, we may need to have a long chat! :)
ReplyDelete@ Jeff - Thanks. The first one was very nerve wracking!
ReplyDelete@ E - I try... gotta keep moving!
@ Holly - It's not ALL about risk and strategy. I mean sometimes you gotta just jump in and do it. Unfortunately, I am a product of my education and experiences... so analyzing is just something I do..