Stop Trying – Do It!
“No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
- Yoda
I was talking to a group of athletes the other day and they used a “dirty” word. The athlete said they would, “try to work harder.” I stopped them right there. I asked them if being successful was important to them or if they just wanted to spend all their time and effort and get nothing out of it. Of course, they said, they “wanted” to be successful. Strike Two.
I looked at the coach and he shrugged and said, “That’s why you’re here.”
Thank goodness he reached out.
In five minutes, I had the athlete smiling and nodding and understanding that the way they speak will determine their actions, and more importantly, the actions of those who are watching and listening to them.
Our culture has driven the “fight” out of our youth. This is the human “race”, not the human convention or the human debate. When we, as parents and mentors, allow the young people to think that being the best is not important, then we as a civilization are taking a step back.
Why Not Me?
There is only one person, team, company, at the top. Why are we not asking, “why not me?” We get caught up in softening the blow, in falling short, that we take the drive out of ourselves and the people that are watching us. We make it seem that failing is such a bad thing. Failure is part of learning. If we never try, because we’re afraid that we might fail, we will never succeed.
At the end of the 2013 season there was only one world champion team in football, and I was the strength coach of that team. The next year we had another chance, but we didn’t finish. Harold Nash’s team was the best. I didn’t coach less the year before or the year after we won the Super Bowl, I always worked to be the best. Every year I did everything in my power to be the best at the end of the season. I was totally aware of the fact that we might not win. Though I never spoke about it I knew the path to the mountain top was grueling. It is fraught with many obstacles. Trying to keep an entire team focused on the next step is so hard. But the end was worth all of the trouble.
I found several things needed to be accomplished daily. Of that list the three most important are:
Set Your Bar High
Holding yourself to higher standards is not that difficult when you put your mind to it. Don’t allow yourself or those around you to accept less than the best. When everyone is on board it becomes easier every day.
Speak Right
Speaking the right way is simple also. Get the “excuse words” “try, “might”, “could”, “would”, “should”, “might”, “probably”) out of your vocabulary. Replace them with power words (“I will”, “I need”, “I have”, “I can”, “Yes”). When we start speaking positively and we hold ourselves to higher standards great things will begin to happen to us.
Expect More of Yourself
When we hold ourselves to higher standards and begin to speak with empowering words, we can also raise out expectations. Expectations are the way we view ourselves and the way people view us. If your boss comes to you to get things done, then they have high expectations of you. And because you always get it done, you also have high expectations of yourself. Contrast that with people who just get by. They are not very consistent, unless you count always doing a half-assed job as being consistent.
Instead of thinking you are not worthy of the assignment that your boss gave you. Telling your boss, “You might be able to get it done.” And then as you start the assignment you tell yourself, “I’ll never get this done.” Try asking your boss, “Is there anything else you need me to do?” When they say they need it by the end of the week, “That won’t be a problem, I will get this done.” As you start working on it remind yourself that you are the best person for the assignment of the boss wouldn’t have come to you.
It is simple to change the way you go through your work every day. When you do three things.
· Hold yourself to higher standards, in all aspects of your life.
· Speak in powerful positive words that spur you to be your optimal self.
· Raise your expectations for yourself and those around you.
Not only will your work get better, but it will also bleed over to your personal life. All those around you will start to mimic and speak like you because being the best at something is contagious. Especially when one finds out that it doesn’t cost anything.
Why doesn’t everyone do it?
Because they need to change the way they think and speak and do. In today’s society we see people accepting less. Doing less. And not respecting themselves or those around them.
You might find that some of those people around you will find this change to be impossible. If people won’t change the way they speak or think or act, then cut them out of your life. Don’t let others weigh you down.
You have one opportunity to get the high score on a test. Just because your “friend” doesn’t want to study doesn’t mean you can’t. Tell them you NEED to be the best. Don’t try, do!
If you already have a profession, you’re going to work every day, right? Why not just be the best of everyone in your office? Why not be the leader that everyone is looking for? Why not believe in yourself and your skills and abilities? Don’t just try to get along, be different, be the best!
Stop trying, go ahead and just do it.
Have an amazing day.
