Face down on the mat isn’t the time for crazy ninja maneuvers.
It’s a time for clear thinking and intentional action. But this position is where we sometimes find ourselves “oriented times zero” as John Eldridge described in his book Waking the Dead. Our understanding becomes little more than an awareness of our existence. And Pain. For a moment at least, that’s all we know.
In such moments, with vision blurred and confidence rocked, we need air in our lungs, calm in our mind, and belief beyond the circumstances.
But how?
STOP!
When your reset button has been punched. Just stop. For an instance at least, do nothing. Let the calm return.
Then…
BREATHE!
Fill those lungs with oxygen. Get blood flow back to the head
And…
SEE!
What do you see? Not with your eyes but within your mind? Regain clarity and focus. Even if you can’t see 12-inches in front of your nose, you can regain perspective and belief in your inner champion. See the dream again. The dream is always bigger than the circumstances. The champion is always tougher than the challenges.
THINK!
This is an opportunity to think differently. Methodically. With intention. What should be changed? Where is the opportunity? There’s always an opportunity if you’re ready for it.
So how can this moment be leveraged?
Now..
MOVE!
Seize the moment to take responsibility and move toward a better outcome. Even if it’s just an inch upward, you gotta make the monumental move to stand back up. Louis L’Amour said it well, “Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more.”
It’s what we do when we’re down that counts. This is the critical moment. Anyone can stand strong when the game of life is going our way. But who are we when the pain comes? When it isn’t going as planned and we’re knocked repeatedly on our butt?
When you find yourself on the mat, continue to dream big and gather yourself to stand back up. You really can. Champions do it all the time. So can you.
My next post will cover critical tactics from the world of fighting to help us prepare and handle those situations like a champion. Don’t miss it.
Life has a way of knocking the air out of us. Doubling us over and blurring our vision. We’re cruising along at a comfortable pace then WHAM! Life delivers a Chuck Liddell punch and we’re knocked on our ass.
We find ourselves dazed, wondering what just happened, and struggling to see clearly. Suddenly we’ve lost our bearings. Our equilibrium is off. Yesterday seemed so sure but today delivered a concussion and your head is spinning with what-ifs and whys.
Is This Really What I Signed Up For?
One minute we’re on top of our game, the next we’re injured. The “sure thing” fell apart. That business loan didn’t pan out. Promises were broken. A partner left. SLAM! We’re on the mat and everything is blurry. Now what?
The easy thing to do is nothing. Stay down. Stay put. Bitch and moan. Quit. Tap out. OR
You can fight like hell. Stand up. But don’t you dare give up! You deserve better.
The Champion vs The Chump
At that critical moment we have 2 competing voices inside – the champion and the chump. The champion just got the snot knocked out of him so his voice is barely audible. The chump is a coward. His heart wasn’t in it to begin with. In fact, the only time he speaks up is to warn us how dangerous or impossible something is. Once he sees our inner champion down, he seizes the opportunity to cue the violin and ask, “Why are you doing this anyway? Why don’t you just quit? No one would blame you. After all, you’re hurt. Right?” Recognize that guy? That’s the chump.
In This Corner… The Chump
The chump only wants the easy fight, the sure thing, the paved road, or a fixed bet. Sure we all want to lesson our chance of loss and increase our odds of winning. This is different. I’m talking about selling out, staying home, and playing it safe. The chump wants it all delivered to him, paid in full, sans effort or hardship. Sorry, but life doesn’t work that way and life isn’t fair. My dad told me so. My dad was a smart man.
Never Count a Champion Out Just Because He’s Down
Extreme sports, like Mixed Martial Arts, stir up something primitive within us where we’re forced to either stand and fight or lie down and die. The same is true of any dream. Sooner or later we’re confronted with the question, “Just how badly do you want it?” Our dreams will force the choice. Are you going to stand up? Or just rollover and tap out?
What will you do? Your dreams wanna’ know.
We’ll talk more about champion methods for dealing with the blows that life deals us in an upcoming post. Stay tuned and pass this along.
They’re the easiest thing in the world to create because they appear to be free, but they end up costing us in the long run. At best they cause us to miss opportunities. At worst, they cost us self-respect and trust from others. They’re excuses, and excuses suck.
Put simply, excuses are self-justification. They place the blame and responsibility anywhere but ourselves. Need an example? How about my latest- “well, I couldn’t quite make it on time, because…” Really? C’mon Shawn! How about the other guys that showed up early?
Every day, at every turn, we face the choice of taking responsibility or making an excuse. We face it in the biggest decisions and the smallest opportunities.
photo by Hazel Caballero
When setting goals and taking action our excuses must be ruthlessly terminated. We simply cannot allow the compromise of an excuse to wedge itself into our lives. Refuse it. Choose a higher response.
Let me be clear, I’m not talking about perfection. I’m talking about intentionality, about looking for the first sign of compromise and refusing to go the “easy way.” If you haven’t already done so, start recognizing excuses for what they are — a seemingly easy way out with a very high price tag.
My dad was a no-excuse kinda’ guy. If he said he was going to do something, he did it. Period. There wasn’t a big production about the process, he just took action, over, and over. In fact, I can’t remember a day of his life that he called into work sick, unless you count the last days of his life when he was physically forced to slow down. I don’t. Excuses just weren’t part of his DNA.
Find a role model or mentor.
There are plenty of people in all areas of life that could have given a much better excuse than the one you or I have — “my feet hurt” from a guy who doesn’t have the privilege to walk. “I’m tired” from a single-mom without a home and bed of her own working two jobs to provide a better life for her family. In that context, my reasons for not doing something are apparent. They’re excuses, and they suck.
We’ve all been told to “never give up” but “never” is one of those words that rarely fits. Truth is, sometimes giving up is exactly what we need to do. So here’s an incomplete list of things that are more than okay to GIVE UP:
BLAMING
Work on yourself instead.
EXCUSES
“Excuses are the nails used… to build a house of failure.” ~Don Wilder
JUSTIFYING
Stop justifying poor results.
COMPLAINING
Quit complaining about what isn’t working.
NONPRODUCTIVE TASKS
Cut out the nonproductive tasks that really don’t matter, instead practice the 80/20 principle where 20% of what you do produces 80% of the results.
QUITTING
It’s okay to quit; just make sure you start again. Seriously, if you are going to quit something quit the quitting.
SAYING YES Say “no” more frequently. You’ll find it easier and less stressful to follow through when you become pickier about your commitments.
THE COMFORT ZONE
Embrace change and fall in love with growth and learning. Continually stretch yourself.
INACTION Do something to move closer to your target goal. Even 15 minutes is progress compared to inaction and that’s usually all it takes to kill the inertia of inaction.
OVER-ANALYSIS You’ve done some research, now start! There will always be more analysis that could have be done before you begin, but it’s much better to get started.
SELF DOUBT
We’ve all been there. The key is deciding to move away from self doubt toward self encouragement, positive actions, and reminders of what you have already accomplished. Become your own coach, cheerleader, and friend. Ask yourself, “if you spoke to your best friend the way you speak to yourself would they still be your best friend?”
NEGATIVE INNER DIALOGUE
Like self doubt, the negative words and images about ourselves strip us of our potential. Rewrite the scripts. What would your inner coach say to empower you?
PASSIVITY
Believing that someone else holds the key to unlocking your potential for success, capabilities, and opportunities will leave you waiting and disappointed. It’s up to you to take action!
SURVIVAL
Most of us already have everything we need to “survive” (we have the basic necessities of life covered) so we need to focus our intent upon THRIVING not surviving.
FEAR
Fear was meant to be conquered by facing it directly with courage. If we do not, our dreams are blocked. So recognize what you are afraid to do and do it anyway.
SOMEDAY SYNDROME
Someday Syndrome can easily lead to missed opportunities and regrets. If it’s truly important to you take the first step… research that travel destination you’ve dreamed about visiting, outline that book you want to write… take the leap.
REPETITION
If what you’re doing isn’t working, take a chance and do something different. It’s been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Do something different and expect different results.
WISHFUL THINKING
Replace wishful thinking with determined action.
IGNORANCE
Know yourself, know what you want, know your strengths and pasions, and remain hungry for knowledge, wisdom, and growth.
TALKING / DREAMING WITHOUT DOING Vaporous talking and dreaming produce nothing. This is not a dress rehearsal, this is your one shot at the life you’ve been given. What have you been talking most about but doing little? Flip it around. Do more. Talk less.
ANYTHING THAT LACKS EXCELLENCE Who said you must finish that mediocre book or mundane movie? Just because something has a designer brand on it or was stamped “best seller” doesn’t make it excellent. Look for excellence and cultivate the distinction between good and best. Then become the best… YOU. Become excellent in all you do.
Asked how long it took to achieve Excellence, IBM’s legendary boss Tom Watson is said to have answered more or less as follows: “A minute. You ‘achieve’ Excellence by promising yourself right now that you’ll never again knowingly do anything that’s not Excellent—regardless of any pressure to do otherwise by any boss or situation.”
