Do You Have A Creed?

Yeah, I'm sure you get asked that question a lot. No?

Let me clarify for a couple of you right away, I am not talking about Apollo Creed from Rocky or the video game Assassin's Creed. Word association right... I know.

That being said, let's define Creed real quick...

Creed: any system or codification of belief or of opinion

If I'm being totally honest, the word or thought of a creed didn't mean much to me until about six years ago. It's kind of funny how it happened too, I see it as "a God thing." My Dad and I were hanging out and watching Pastor Joel Osteen on TV. If you have watched him or his Dad (John Osteen) start a service, then you know they start with their entire congregation saying a creed. "This is my Bible, I am what it says I am..."

After they finished saying their creed, my Dad says to me "It would be kinda cool to have something like that for your wrestling team." I said "Yes it would" and then the thought passed into the land of lost thoughts. Well, at least it seemed that way until the thought found it's way back into the forefront of my mind about six months later. 

I'm sitting on the couch during Christmas break and typing up the next days wrestling practice. Joel Osteen comes on TV and BAM, the conversation with my Dad popped back up into my head. I grab a notepad start writing. I'd guess it was around 3 minutes later and our team creed was written. 

I AM A SHAWNEE HEIGHTS WRESTLER

STRONGER, FASTER, AND BETTER THAN AVERAGE

TODAY I WILL WORK WITH ALL MY HEART TO IMPROVE AND PERFECT MY SPORT

WHEN I STEP ON THE MAT,

I’LL HOLD NOTHING BACK…HOKA HEY!

I AM A SHAWNEE HEIGHTS WRESTLER

AND THIS IS MY DECREE

TO ALWAYS WAH-SKON

AND TCOB!

Big deal right. Actually Yes, it is kind of a big deal. You see, I feel like the writing of the creed was inspired (credit to God) and it's impact is still ongoing. In the creed I placed our teams core beliefs and values. It is the code our wrestlers live by on and off the mats. We even have our own team song and it's basis comes from our team creed (Listen here). Our wrestlers believe in the words written in that creed and they take a lot of pride in it!

The trickle down effect (in a good way) is taking place....

I walked into the middle school gym a couple of days ago (I teach middle school PE) and two of the middle school wrestlers were singing our high school wrestling song. Inside I did a couple back flips:)! My thought was YES! These young guys know the song, they are singing it, it's in their head. To me, that means "buy in" to our program. Where did that start... with our creed!

Guess what? Creeds aren't just for sports teams. They are for you, me , everyone. If you have a belief system, then you should think about writing and using a creed. I mean, you don't have to make a song or anything, unless you really want to. 

Here is a stolen idea that I use with my children and all my school classes. Get ready for it, wait, wait, this is gonna be epic, it's a creed! I was at a leadership conference and got to listen to a tremendous business leader named Jason Pannell speak. Jason was talking to us and then tells a story about a creed that he says with his children each day before school. So, I wrote it down and again, the thought heads to the land of lost thoughts. A couple days later, BAM... the thought pops into my head. So I decided that I want to write a creed for my children. We will say it before school and before bed. Then I thought, why not use this in school as well. I mean, I am a teacher and want to inspire my students. 

Here is the simple creed I wrote for my own children to say:

I am a Leader

I am a Champion

I am Blessed by God

We say this each night before bed and also every morning before school. Does it matter to my kiddos? The answer can be found in this statement made every time I've tried to sneak out the bedroom without saying the creed with my girls "Dad, we forgot to say the creed." Believe me, I am not allowed to leave the room at bedtime until we have said our creed. 

Here is the simple creed my PE classes say each day before heading to the locker rooms:

I am a Leader

I am a Champion

I am Gifted

Let me tell you, class cannot end until we have said the creed. There have been times I forgot and the students always remind me "Coach, we have to say the creed." Enough said :)

You see, there is power in the written and spoken word. I believe this with my whole heart. That's the importance of a creed. It is your belief written into a few statements that are extremely potent. Take that written word and speak it out loud, then you have something special.

My challenge for you is this, write a creed. Write it for you, your children, your sports team, etc. It can be complex or it can be simplistic. It doesn't matter either way, just write what is on your heart and in your mind. 
Write a creed and then speak it out loud for 30 days. Take this challenge and then let me know how it impacts your life, kids, team, etc. 

I overlooked this simple idea for many years of my life. I'm thankful God has used something so simple as a creed to help change my thoughts and to positively influence so many others. 

p.s. I'm serious, write, speak, and let me know how it goes for you. 

God Bless,

Coach P