Everyday Drills
Whether in a sport, at a job, or in a family, everyone everywhere is part of a team. The Everyday Drills blog is designed to create a moment each morning where we are intentional about becoming better teammates and team leaders. Subscribe for thoughtful ways for you and your team to be challenged each and every day.
Does everyone really want to win?
Most people talk about winning as a result but winning is far more than a moment of victory. Winning is a process and the result of a team or individual committing to embrace the grind. Many people enter into an endeavor looking for a positive result and quickly discover that the cost of winning may be their comfort, convenience and convictions. Sometimes winning challenges everything. For some, that’s too much, and they settle for not losing which isn’t quite the same as winning or outright losing. Not losing isn’t considered the same failure as losing so it’s good enough to save face. For those who want to win it’s a way of life that isn’t all about beating an opponent but rather outlasting them in the challenges that a true winner must endure.
What are you looking for?
When we set out to do something, we look for reasons to do it. Those reasons are determined by our heart. When we are committed to something, and I mean really in it to win it, we look for reasons to keep going so that we can win. When we lack commitment we will look for the off ramp. Those reasons make quitting sound perfectly reasonable. The reality is that there are almost always reasons to quit and reasons to keeping going. It’s the heart behind our eyes that determines the nature of the search.
Are we there yet?
Sprints are the most exciting races to watch and it’s mostly because they are over in ten seconds. Most races are not a sprint. Most races take all day. Figuratively, whatever endeavor a team takes on will most likely not be over in ten seconds. Teams must pace themselves and plan for the long run. Is that where that phrase comes from? The long run requires endurance and half the battle of lasting as long as the “long run” requires is accepting the length of a long run. Expectations always breed frustrations and when we expect something to be completed before it is, it can be easy to start looking for a way out. Accepting that the task is going to take a while allows us to mentally prepare for the moment we will want to quit. When we don’t prepare for that moment, quitting seems like the only option.