NFL Hall of Fame coach George Allen worked tirelessly to achieve his goals and was often successful because of this.
Each of my sons has at least one trait with which they are borderline obsessed. Cam, the oldest, is a geography/map aficionado. It’s nearly impossible to get Jake to stop playing baseball. And Cole, well he professes to most enjoying driving me crazy. He’s often the most successful, by the way.
For me, since I was in grade school, my passion has been the National Football League of the 1970’s. I either own or have seen just about every NFL Films video/game rebroadcast regarding the league during that era. In fact, thinking of one scene inspired this blog entry.
Hall of Fame coach George Allen (1918-1990) is sitting in his office at the Washington Redskins’ training facility when the camera pans to a hand-written sign attached to a name plate in the center of his dark-wood desk that reads, “Is what I’m doing, or about to do, helping us achieve our overall objective: Winning?”
It’s as powerful a question as I’ve ever contemplated. And it’s the one I ask myself every day.
Am I doing everything I can to achieve the clearly defined goals I’ve set for myself? Am I any closer to writing remotely, while my wife and I sail our 32-foot sloop throughout the Caribbean? I’d like to think that this blog, which I plan to use as the springboard to a successful blogging career, is one indicator that I am.
I have friends that tell me, “Chris, you know what I’d really like to do with my life…?” Each time I reply with a question in kind.
“Why don’t you?”
My response is usually met with a pursing of the lips, eyes that roll up in an introspective look and a raising of the eyebrows, signifying they’re wondering the same. Unfortunately, it’s often followed by a laundry list of excuses. “I don’t have enough time. I don’t know where to start. I don’t have the money.” Blah, blah, blah.
If this sounds familiar, the reality is, just like them, you haven’t reached two critical points necessary for creating lasting positive change:
- You are not at a point where you’ll no longer accept your present situation.
Lasting change begins in an instant, but won’t occur until you are convinced that the only acceptable option is to live your goal completely. Until you’re no longer willing to live without this change in your life, you’ll find a way to return to your current situation. The reason? Even if you’re only focusing on a small part of your life, change is often scary. Your current life, even if it’s abysmal, is at least familiar. You know what to expect and can prepare accordingly.
As humans, we instinctively seek pleasure and avoid pain. And while an undesirable life can bring consistent pain, it’s often not enough to offset the fear of the unknown that comes with changing – even when we know the ultimate result will bring us immense joy.
When you decide there is no other option, you’ll be surprised how resourceful you can become in achieving your goal. Like Hannibal said, “Either find a way or make one.”
2. You haven’t won the battle in your mind.
Even if you’ve determined to change your life for the better and have a clear and compelling goal, there’s still the battle within your mind that needs to be won. Have you ever entered the gym with the best of intentions of transforming your body, only to find yourself back on the couch a few days later watching television and eating junk food?
Want to know who’s responsible? Go to the nearest mirror and take a long look.
The reason is your mind is a battleground that uses fear and doubt to sabotage your efforts. Sounds a bit dramatic doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s the truth.
It’s your mind that talks you out of achieving what you want in life. It’s your mind that instills the fear of uncertainty that comes with making a positive life change. It’s your mind that doubts your ability to bring your goal to fruition. And when you listen to it, you succumb to the pattern of trying to convince yourself that your current situation – no matter how bad it is – is still somehow acceptable.
In my first blog, I wrote about setting your goal and working your plan. That the key was to make your goal so compelling that you can picture yourself living that life down to what you’ll smell, what you’ll see, what you’ll hear and what you’ll feel when you complete it? This way, when doubt and fear creep back into your mind, you can rely on those feelings of success and pleasure to powerfully pull you toward the positive outcome you desire.
So I ask you now, what’s your life goal? Why aren’t you living it? When do you definitively decide you’ll no longer live without it. When do you win the battle in your mind?
And most of all, when do you look yourself in the mirror, ask George Allen’s question and finally reply, “Yes I am”?
Chris Errington is a husband, dad, writer, seeker of truth and fervent believer in the power of utilizing best practices to live a more balanced and enjoyable life. When I’m not coaching Little League baseball, rooting for the Steelers and West Virginia University or desperately attempting to grow grass in the front/back yards, I’m often planning ways to live my ultimate goal of writing remotely from the deck of a 32-foot sloop while sailing around the Caribbean. Getting my wife to agree is another matter entirely.
Best Practice Life 