This generation is primed for mediocrity if we continue to ignore the elephant in the room.
How often have we seen students and athletes alike only give half the effort in attempts to build a safety net? You may be asking yourself how can giving less than your best create a safety net? But listen closely to the psychology of this, if you give everything there is to give, if you work your absolute hardest, if you lay it all on the line, if you commit to hours of studying or training as you possibly can and get the best mentoring and coaching and yet you still fail than it really is that maybe YOU are…. hear this maybe YOU are a failure. (The audience gasps) : )
We have a generation buying into that lie. They believe the LIE that if you just give half the effort and fail, well then YOU didn’t really fail at all. You just didn’t have enough_____ fill in the blank. (time, money for the best books, mentors, coaches, or you really just aren’t sure if that you were feeling it) then you can walk away feeling as if you didn’t fail.
I hope that my kids see me fail spectacularly and I hope that they see that I got back up and I tried again. I hope they recognize when I attempt to make a new recipe they are craving and we can’t choke it down and the dog won’t even eat it, that I am certain it will be BETTER the next time I try. I hope that my students recognize the hours of reading, preparation and time I spend investing into teaching them functional anatomy and physical therapy assessment and techniques. Yet, understand that I continue to learn, sometimes right all with them in the classroom or that evening when I do additional research to answer their curious minds.
“Fear Not” is the most repeated command in the Bible. Peter started to sink when walking on water when he started to become fearful, but he was the only one that walked on water at all. That story alone tells me 2 very important LIFE LESSONS!
Fear will absolutely sink you!
If we can control our fear, we will accomplish FAR more than even our friends/colleagues in the exact same boat!
So, what are you afraid of today? Taking the exam? Taking the last second shot?
Guess what? You might give it your all and miss the shot or fail the exam. And guess what? You will survive. In fact, it will make passing the exam or making the last second shot the next time even more precious. Experiencing repeated failure is part of the formula for bringing out some of the greatest persistence and successes in life.
Are you willing to get out of the boat today?