Successful athletes and coaches will tell you that one key to success is to deliver the best effort each and every game or match. That does not necessarily mean that the athlete or team will produce a winning formula every time; but, it does assure the competitors of being able to set aside “regrets” because they did in fact, “leave it all on the field of competition.”
In your professional and personal life, it is imperative for you to “leave it all on the field” each day as well. By giving your required tasks and your commitments no less than your best thoughts and efforts based upon your ability to perform, you are releasing the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” that too often complicates matters when shortfalls arise. Noted Hall of Fame and legendary football coach Vince Lombardi proclaimed, “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour —his greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear—is that moment when he has worked his heart out in good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle—victorious.”
Growing up I was taught from an early age that regardless of your task, if you are asked to perform, you are obligated to do so to the very best of your ability. Too often in business as well as life, thoughts and false assumptions can creep into your mental tenacity and cause a substantial sub par performance. It is not that you are necessarily incapable of performing the role or task, it is too often concluded you simply lack faith that your work will have the proper impact or that you are skilled enough to accomplish the feat. Either way, it becomes a prescription for failure.
How do you overcome those challenges and place yourself in position to “leave it all on the field?” Here are five (5) simple steps:
1) You must have a clear goal and then be committed to reaching it. Clarity enables the mind to declutter and visualize what’s possible. At the point of seeing the possibility, you must then have unwavering commitment to bring the possibility into reality. Commitment leads you past participation and assures that you are doing your best. You no longer look for a way out but you focus on a way to get in.
2) You must be disciplined to continue. It takes discipline to get better. Discipline can not be seen as a simple chore but a remedy that allows you to conquer the nature of consequences that confronts you daily. Never surrender. As noted social reformer and speaker Henry Ward Beecher said, “Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself—and be lenient to everybody else.” Discipline drives results and will enable you to conquer your quest.
3) You must believe in yourself. Businessman Richard M. De Vos once said, “The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.” Countless legendaries have conveyed that you must believe you will succeed. That you must truly believe in yourself firmly so that your mind will develop a picture of you performing the very task you face. When your belief in yourself becomes strong, you are able to set aside self-imposed limits because you clearly see the task unfolding. Whether or not it is true at the moment does not matter because your belief is so secured that you begin to act as if it is. Believe in yourself and achieve accordingly.
4) You must constantly strive for excellence. It was once said that everything starts with a commitment to excellence. In life and business you get more if you expect more. Setting and demanding high standards will enable you to combat compromises. When you are successful in this regard you are able to ensure that you do not settle for a simple “run-of-the-mill” performance. Excellence drives you to be better than you currently are. Though it demands a price in regards to such things as practice, having patience and remaining persistent in your efforts, you will discover that striving for excellence will become a valued way of life. When that is evident, mediocrity is defeated and the best becomes better.
5) You must be dedicated to producing results. In the big scheme of things, results are the determining factor in defining success. Producing measurable results demands you have the mental and physical toughness to accept responsibility. Further, it demands you develop the strategies that enable you to achieve that “higher level” critical to an ultimate performance. You may be well-liked. You may be well-educated and may often be right; but, if you can not deliver results, you most likely will simply become a “wonder” who “wanders.” In reality, it is not necessarily what you do but how much you actually get done.
How are you “leaving it all on the field?” Are you making the difference or are you simply going through the motions? What have you allowed to come into play that has shortchanged your effort to give 100% each and every day in your endeavors? More importantly, what will you now do differently to insure that you do “leave it all on the field” in your professional or personal life? As the noted chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur said, “Whether our efforts are, or not, favored by life, let us be able to say, when we come near to the great goal, I have done what I could.”
Think BIG! Coaching and Training, Inc.
Herman Dixon
Author, Speaker, Executive Advisor
P. (304) 839-5101
Thoughts to Think BIG! 