Ken Fritz: The Strength in Restraint

We tend to think strength means doing something.

We have to fight back, say something, or “show them.”

We have the core belief, “Nobody disrespects me,” then act like fools when it inevitably happens.

Ken Fritz gave us a different picture of strength when anger could have taken over.

He tried to stop it, which should also be our goal when things get out of hand.

Anger loves immediate action, but it is reactionary and short-sighted. It rarely considers the bigger picture.

Send the text or make that angry post. Get even. Say what you want to because “it’s the truth!”

But when we show anger, we THINK we are showing strength. What we are actually showing is weakness.

How many dudes will stand up and say they want people to see their weaknesses?

(Crickets)

Emotional strength sometimes means doing absolutely nothing until you've considered the potential consequences of that thing you WANT to do right now because you're pissed off.

You can always respond later. You can't always take back what you did while you were furious.

Fritz was physically strong enough to play offensive guard at Ohio State.

But on that night in Jacksonville, another kind of strength mattered more: Restraint.

Remember, his team lost, too. Not just Woody’s.

Anybody can react when emotions take over. Sadly, our society is full of these people.

But if your goal is to be strong….

Sometimes the strongest person in the room is the one who can stop himself.

Or the one willing to keep somebody else's bad moment from becoming something worse.