PUSH YOURSELF: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE #1, TO BE #1
To be #1 you have to
push yourself with incredible energy and invisible determination, you have to overcome adversity yet remain positive, and
you must allow yourself to be challenged (by the game and others) in order to be the best!
I love March Madness.
The Final 4 is set – UCONN, Kentucky, VCU and Butler. For the first time since the seeding system started, there
are NO NUMBER 1 seeds in the Final Four nor are there any NUMBER 2 seeds. UConn is a 3 seed, Kentucky a 4 seed, Butler
an 8 seed, and VCU an 11 seed. If you expect to BE #1, without being #1 then you better be prepared to take advantage
of any and all opportunities afforded you and you better PUSH YOURSELF with reckless abandon. How do you motivate a
group to achieve at a higher standard than they are expected to? VCU knocked off #1 Kansas; Butler knocked off #1 Pitt.
How does that happen? You are competing against teams with players who are stronger and faster than yours. Those
teams have bigger budgets and better equipment and MORE everything (more material things, that is). It is a stiff challenge.
If your opponent has MORE material (an advantage in talent and money) then you better surely have MORE fight, MORE energy,
MORE passion, MORE belief, MORE intensity and MORE PUSH. How do you get individual players to accept the challenge of
daily improvement – pushing forward day by day? Where does the % of improvement come from? From pushing
yourself to be number 1!
PUSH YOURSELF to be number 1. You must know what you want to do (clear goals); you
must know exactly what you expect to accomplish (clear vision); you must visualize yourself achieving IT (believe in yourself);
and you must push yourself everyday to get better and better and closer and closer to your potential. Pushing yourself
means breaking out of your comfort zone. If you achieve a goal or start to get close to the finish line, then set a
higher goal. Define a new goal. Chase after a bigger dream. When you start out on the journey, we all have
a bit of self-doubt. Sometimes after a disappointing performance, we say, “I’ll never be able to accomplish
that” or “I’m not good enough to beat that person or team”. You must stay positive in your approach
and eliminate all self-limiting beliefs (the elephant with the rope around his leg). If you can believe it and visualize
it and feel it in your heart, then you can do it. Sometimes the % of improvement you need to go from a disappointing
loss to victory needs to come from working harder; but most times you do not need to work any harder (i.e. put in more hours
– quantity); instead your approach can be revised so it is smarter (quality of your work) and more efficient.
Sometimes your goals & expectations need to be set higher. Sometimes you need to push harder and allow others to
push you higher. You need to surround yourself with a support structure (TEAM) that can provide you with the best instruction
and guidance; that will PUSH you and hold you accountable to do your best; that will encourage and challenge you to persevere;
and most of all, that will create an environment where you can LEARN and achieve daily.
In law school on the
very 1st day of class, I had a professor who proudly boasted –
look to your right and look to your left, 2 out of the 3 will NOT make it, 2 out of the 3 will flunk out, 2 out of the 3 will
not make the cut. WOW! The people sitting in that classroom were the best of the best. They were SELECTED
to be sitting there. They had to pass entrance exams and rank at the top of their undergraduate classes. They
were over-achievers, who knew how to work hard, who were exceptionally smart and self-motivated. That certain professor
showed up everyday and gave lectures and obviously proved to all of us how smart he was and what command he had over the subject
matter. But beyond being smart and articulate, he did nothing more to HELP any of us reach our potential nor defy the
odds of 2 out 3 not making it. He lectured, gave us the assignments and then graded the exams. At the end of our
1st year, in fact, 2 out 3 did not make it.
2 out of
3 flunking out is unacceptable, especially when you are working with the best of the best. In athletics, I believe that
is the coach’s responsibility to PUSH their players to make sure they GET IT. We have to do more than just stand
up and give a great lecture and hope that our students get it. The ability of any good professor or teacher or coach
is to take a complex subject (like hitting or pitching or advanced marketing) and break it down to a level that the player/student
can understand and master. And you have to explain it over and over and over again. You have to come up with a
different example or a different drill or a different analogy each day. You have to sit down and watch video with the
players. You have to continuously encourage and challenge each one of them to stay at it. You have to stay after
practice and explain it again one on one and watch them do the drill or perform the skill and give them specific feedback
on every swing or every pitch. You can be book smart and throw out all of the big 10 syllable words or you can be an
All-American athlete who knows how to perform the skill effortlessly, but if the player does not understand what you are talking
about, or if the player is struggling with getting their body to get in the proper position or to feel what you are explaining,
then there is no way that their skill level will improve. They will flunk out. So, you come up with yet another
drill or you watch some more video or you throw more batting practice or you come up with another way to describe the material
or do whatever and whenever to PUSH the player to get it.
Not only are coaches and teachers and professors challenged
to PUSH their students and players to master the skills (hitting) or the subject matter (marketing), but there are greater
challenges. How do you make sure the player is PUSHING mentally too? How do you make sure that the player is properly
MOTIVATED? How do you get the player to get rid of self-limiting beliefs? How do you get the player to set higher
goals and standards for themselves and the team? Coaching & leadership & teaching is not cheerleading or
giving a great pre-game speech. It is getting ALL of your players/students to play the game at a certain standard.
To do that, you must invest plenty of time and energy into a relationship and into the process. You have to get that
player to perform at their potential, and most times that involves some PUSHING. You can’t just give the lecture
and the ones who get it, get it — and the ones who don’t, flunk. It’s a four-year journey; and sometimes
a 5-year journey.
The following two quotes from George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Buxton give further meaning and perspective
to what it means for somebody to PUSH themselves. The first one by Shaw is about ATTITUDE and the next one by Buxton is about
EFFORT. You have to have the right attitude and then put forth the required effort in order to push yourself to be number
1.
“The true joy in life is to be a force of fortune instead of a feverish, selfish
little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
— George Bernard Shaw
It’s all about your attitude and your perspective. Are you a “force of
fortune” or a “clod of ailments”? Having the opportunity to play college athletics is a “fortune”;
a wonderful opportunity. First of all, it is suppose to be hard. The hard is what makes it special and the hard
is what makes it worthwhile and the hard is what makes it fun and so rewarding. This generation of college athletes
are fortunate to be stronger and faster and smarter and more talented and skilled and more schooled in the nuances of the
game. They have the talents/abilities to succeed at a high level. Especially in female athletics, this generation
is fortunate because more and more resources and exposure and opportunities are available than just a generation ago.
But more important than the material resources, are the fortunes of having a support structure/TEAM in place to catch you
when you fall and love you when you fail yet challenge you to push harder and dream bigger and hold you accountable to do
your best day after day. Playing the game and having the “fortune” to push to be your BEST is fun.
Too many people are of the opinion that resources should be devoted to appease the “selfish clod of ailments and grievances”.
If you are trying to be the best THEN no whining; no excuses; no blaming and pointing the finger; no pity parties are allowed.
“The difference between one person and another, between the weak and the powerful, the great and the insignificant,
is energy – invisible determination….This quality will do anything that has to be done in the world, and no talents,
no circumstances, no opportunities will make you a great person without it.’ — Thomas Buxton
PUSHING
YOURSELF to be number one involves an “invisible determination”. Players who push themselves are absolutely
relentless. They are intrinsically motivated. They have devotion and discipline. They pursue excellence.
Everyday they PROGRESS and move forward with a plan to do something that makes them and the team better. They are determined
to practice until they are able to play to the best of their ability. Ordinary effort and energy is mediocrity. The
challenge is to find a way to elevate your environment. That is not easy. You must actively pursue the highest
possible performance level. It’s tough to consistently compete at a high level, day in and day out over a number
of years. But if you train at the most INTENSE levels, then and only then will your improvement be remarkable.
Also, being a part of a team (something bigger than just you) should encourage and motivate you to work harder. The
fruits of your labor not only benefit you, but more importantly, it matters to others; the quality of your work directly impacts
the success of the team. Just like the flock of geese, everyone is responsible to do their part. Teamwork is the
most essential ingredient of success. Being on a team helps you learn how to be held accountable to others as you work
towards a common goal. The combination of pursuing excellence, being a part of a team and being challenged and held
accountable and the feelings you feel deep down inside go a long way towards determining how hard you will push.
Along the
way, we all have to face some adversity on our journey. When the adversity arrives, then we have to even PUSH harder
than before. In softball, we have had players who have torn their ACL, torn their labrum, broken their ankle, and had
appendectomy surgery. These kids were performing at a high level athletically and then comes the injury. The game
presents them with a challenge. Before the injury, they were the fastest or they could pitch the hardest or they could
hit the farthest, and then comes the injury and the adversity. No longer can they rely on just pure athletic talent
and ability. The test is whether these kids can find a way to PUSH themselves. Even if they are a step slower
or lose a couple miles of an hour on their fastball or hit the ball 20 feet less on the line drive — can they make that
up in their intensity level or with an A+ attitude or with greater effort or with smarter play and better decisions?
If your edge is not pure talent and ability, then can you still find a way to win? If you are not number 1, then can you still
find a way to be your best? Failure and injuries and losses and disappointment and setbacks and mischance and
rough seas are all part of the journey. Adversity provides opportunity to PUSH and develop your indomitable
will. It allows you to let your soul shine. It forces you to become more than just talented; it forces you to
become skillful.
“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile and I will show you someone who has overcome adversity.”
— Lou Holtz
“The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another,
not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high heroic temper.” — Aristotle
“Strength
does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”–Mahatma Gandhi
“Smooth
seas do not make skillful sailors” — African proverb
When the GAME CHALLENGES you or when
ADVERSITY rears its head or when the SEAS ARE NO LONGER SMOOTH, you must answer the challenge and overcome the adversity and
BECOME A SKILLFUL SAILOR and let the BEAUTY OF YOUR SOUL SHINE. Players do not have to have the most talent or be the
biggest or the strongest nor the fastest, to put every ounce of their energy into getting better. The player that sees
the adversity as a growing experiences and a learning opportunity is the one that is going to PUSH through it. The player
who puts every ounce of their energy into getting better and who embraces the adversity and welcomes the challenges of the
game to push even harder, can and will beat the faster, stronger, bigger athlete who refuses to commit to the process of becoming
their best and who shies away from the adversity and is content to never be challenged outside of their comfort zone.
Players who are talented but who do not PUSH themselves to improve must understand that they will never reach their potential.
They are doing themselves a huge disservice and are a wasting a valuable opportunity to become of champion. Furthermore,
they need to understand how their actions not only undermine their own talents but they also undermine the potential of the
TEAM.
Lastly, if you have figured out how to PUSH yourself to be the best, then it is your responsibility
to help your teammate PUSH too. It’s not necessarily easy to get players to perform at a desired standard.
It takes COURAGE to constantly provide direction to others. It takes commitment to continuously communicate and demand
that people perform to a standard that is consistent with their talents and abilities. Most competitors welcome
“any kind” of communication “at any time” that helps them get the job done and that challenges them
to be the best. If the standard is high and the ambition is to be the best and we are all striving to realize our potential,
then it is ok to demand excellence of everyone in the organization and to hold each other accountable to that higher standard
and to require each other to push themselves daily. Leadership (truly caring about your teammates) means driving others
and pushing them and expecting them to play at the highest level. Demanding excellence, holding each other accountable
and requiring each other to push themselves and by requiring that they get rid of the rope (limiting beliefs) around their
ankles are steps to becoming number 1.
I think too much of our culture wraps success around winning and
losing. In college athletics, there is absolutely no guarantee that if you work yourself to death, and do everything
right, that you will win. Everyone wants to create a formula for success that says if you work incredibly hard, things
will always go your way. But we all know, that thing do not always go your way. Win or lose, the focus is on continuing
your development. How do you get a 20 year old kid who is constantly being told “how good she is”, and the
game has rewarded her with a certain amount of success, to realize that she could be better (that she must be better) and
that she must keep pushing to be number 1? Winning is not the goal – it is finding out what your very best is.
Athletics allows you to see yourself more clearly. If you bring the proper perspective, mindset, and spirit to the game,
then the competition will allow you a chance to PUSH YOURSELF to be NUMBER1 even if you are not NUMBER 1!
