As a graduate of the University of Oregon, I’ve been swept up in the hype that is Duck football for the past five years. Record breaking seasons and trips to the National Championship have been the regular, making for a sense of pride and camaraderie amongst us fans that is palpable.
But apart from the excitement and nostalgia, this time of year also serves as my reminder of the importance of hard work, consistency, and self discipline when working towards a goal.
After I graduated, Oregon hired Chip Kelly as head football coach. Under his guidance, a team that was previously nothing more than a bunch of flashy uniforms became an almost overnight sensation that took the nation by storm.
The team’s rapid rise to college football greatness was undoubtably the product of a mindset shift that Coach Kelly created within his players. He was known for his mantra Win The Day, which, in its essence, embodies the importance of focusing on the process, not the final outcome. For when we attach ourselves too much to the end result, it’s often at the expense of implementing the small steps necessary to get there.
Though best known in recent years for its ties to football, the construct of Win the Day can be applied to any endeavor that requires long term effort. It begs the question, what action do I need to take today to move me closer to my goal. Because although we want to believe that success happens in leaps and bounds, it doesn’t work that way. Rather, it happens by starting small, changing one thing at a time, being consistent, and allowing for our new habits to build upon themselves to create change.
The pursuit of achievement requires motivation, focus, and continual execution. But harnessing those qualities can sometimes feel elusive, especially in the beginning when the resistance is high and our wins are low. Add to that, when we set our sights so far ahead from where we are now, it can feel overwhelming to imagine how much further we have to go. While at first we may hit the ground running armed with knowledge and ambition, soon enough, our aspirations of putting into action the elaborate plan of must do’s catches up to where we actually are in our journey.
So how do we reduce the overwhelm that comes from feeling like we have to do everything all at once? How do we let go of the perfectionism that can lead to paralysis, or worse, giving up all together if we fail to live up to the expectations we have set for ourselves? How do we start winning each day?
We do so by changing our mindset about the process.
The reason so many of us stay stuck is because we set unrealistic standards and then expect perfection. But we are only human, and it is foolish to assume we will never encounter resistance, give into temptation, or choose to take the easy way out when life gets messy. If we give up at the first sign of struggle, then we sabotage our potential results before we have given ourselves the opportunity to make any real progress.
It is how we choose to react when slip ups occur that defines our character and ultimately our results. And those who are successful don’t let one poor choice mean they have failed. They see it as an opportunity to look within themselves, evaluate what went wrong, learn from it, and move on to making the next best choice.
Because we are always just one good choice away from being back in control, and winning is simply a series of good choices. Not necessarily in a perfect line, but in some sort of consistent fashion over time.
It starts with identifying one thing we can do today to move us closer to our goal, then going forth and putting it into action. If we fail to recognize how changing one habit is an improvement over continuing to make the choices that got us to our point of discomfort in the first place, we will continue to stay stuck.
One of the best ways to set ourselves up for winning the day is by sparking motivation early. Coach Kelly required his players make their bed each morning, as it was a simple act of discipline that set the tone for the rest of the day.
While making the bed is only one example of a motivation hack, it is important to define what one might look like for ourselves. Perhaps it is cooking and eating a healthy breakfast, or getting in a workout first thing in the morning.
Whatever it is, practice on executing just that one habit. Because if we begin the day with a sense of pride and accomplishment, then we create the momentum to continue making good choices. Momentum is what leads to consistency. And the intersection between having a goal and being consistent with doing the work it takes to achieve that goal is where progress occurs.
Stop focusing on the past or worrying about tomorrow. Instead, be present, and do the work necessary today to move you forward. It’s all abut progress, and if you are better today then you were yesterday, if you have made just one good choice to move you forward, then you have won.
Win The Day and Go Ducks.
