“Commitment is the glue that bonds you to your goals” – Jill Koenig
Have you ever set a goal and before you know it, you’re feeling hopeless, judgmental, pressured or worried about how reaching the goal is ever going to happen? What would it be like to set a goal and have freedom, confidence, motivation and passion around the goal? Many times we don’t know what that feeling of freedom would be like because we find ourselves attached to a certain outcome based on the goal we set. This attachment to a specific result puts us in a place of upset and judgment, rather than acceptance and learning. When we are committed, we open up a world of continuous action, growth and possibility. Stay with me…
Let’s look at a team at the very beginning of the season. The team is meeting for their first practice and everyone is fired up because this year is going to be THE year. This is the year that everyone has been waiting for, where the championship is at the teams’ fingertips. There is an unsaid pressure for the team to perform at the very best, from the very first game. Although everyone is excited, there is a feeling in the air that may leave some players driven, others worried and others with a fear of not being able to perform up to the expectations of others. The team and the fans may not even know it, but they have an attachment to winning the championship game. Say the team loses their first game, and then the second game. All of a sudden there is an increase in pressure that the team feels to win, because without winning, how will the championship game be theirs? The team may begin focusing on what skills must be developed to win the next game, but the outside pressure of everyone being attached to the championship weighs heavy and causes an upset in the team. At the extreme, the team begins to choke and the faith everyone had in the team is cracked. The championship game seems so far away and begins to become a distant memory.
On the flip side, let’s look at a team that is committed to playing full out every single game. The team becomes committed and excited to hone their skills at practice, passionate about game day and they feel an unstoppable freedom around every game. The coaches and the team know that everyone is playing with confidence and that everyone on the team is playing full out. Each game becomes about giving your heart and soul to inspiring your team and the fans, and leaving it all on the court. The idea of the championship is always in everyone’s mind, but it is not the only point of view the team has. The commitment to playing full out allows the team to express their passion in every game. Playing with this kind of heart and commitment then leads to a win, and another win, and then all of a sudden a winning season where you are the last team standing at the championship game. There was no pressure to be the best, no judgment around the outcome of one game; only momentum that came from each game because the entire team was certain that everyone was giving their all, no matter what.
Ordinary teams can put pressure on themselves to win championships but it takes an extraordinary team to commit to being the best every single game, no matter what. Even in a face of a loss, that commitment to playing full out leaves everyone certain that the whole team left nothing behind.
Are you committed to playing full out, no matter what?
Amazing Sarah, relates to all aspects of life.