personal-development – Page 2 – …my temporary assignment.

Inches 2.0

Football – like life – is a game of inches.

Where your foot lay at the line of scrimmage Friday under the lights or Sunday evening during sprints in the fieldhouse. Where the mesh can produce a drive sustaining gain or series ending fumble. How a sharp break on a route can stymie a defender instead of providing an interception opportunity. Why pad level and leverage will always overcome size. And precise pursuit angles eclipse an explosive offense.

One would think that given those game changing possibilities, more personal focus and investment would be granted those details.

The inches.

I can say with the utmost certainty that if you cannot attend to them now, in the present, you will never be able to call upon them when you choose to define yourself in that one moment.

So to better understand the inherent gravity of details, I challenge you to consider this:

If a detail by itself is but an ounce – then embracing one, mastering it, incorporating it into how you live and finally making it a part of your being – becomes a pound. Not just in terms of pure weight. But mass. How you increase your width, depth and breadth. As an athlete. And as a person.

In effect, the mere ounces you choose to carry, overcome and own will in time translate into pounds of impact, pressure and “want to”.

A force for good that you can exert upon a challenge or chosen endeavor. To the extent that you can essentially roll over a challenge. Capture a goal.

Or, crush an opponent.

Now this assertion has absolutely nothing to do with any known math or science; only the inversely proportional and lasting impact experience has shown me to be true.

That creating the self discipline to attend to the details will in time assure the success of one’s pursuits.

On the field.

And in life.

Both of which are games of inches.

G=R

Ralph Marston Jr., an inspirational author once said; “Your goals, minus your doubts, equals your reality.”

If you want, you could take this concept, reduce it even further, and transform it into some simple arithmetic.

G – D = R

With some effort, a personal commitment and a positive attitude, you can solve for “R”. And being that you are the one to control the factors, you are also the one that can make the difference.

A dream is a blueprint.

A fully illustrated and dimensionalized rendering of your goals. Creating an image that is so vivid, that you can actually live in it, each step along the way.

Until you make it your reality.

That image of what you want to do, where you want to go, and what you want to be, becomes the focal point of everything you do along the way to get there. Then all you need to do is make what is going on out here match with what you see in your head and what you feel in your heart.

It requires an extraordinary level of vision to be able to “see” that goal.

Because you can never afford to lose sight of the present; the moment you are in right now. This is where all the prep work takes place. Discipline learned. Commitments made. Attitudes formed. Character revealed.

Yet you also need to develop the skills to check the horizon, to establish your coordinates and to adjust your long term plans if need be.

If it appears that your destination – the goal – is getting closer, then perhaps your work in the present is paying off. You are making progress, you are affecting your reality.

And once you get to that point, when you get there, it will be like deja vu all over again. You will have already spent months or years in that moment, in that very place Only this time, you get to actually do it.

However, if you look up and find the horizon seems farther away than when you last looked, or is missing altogether, perhaps it is time to regroup.

It can be at this juncture where doubt can make its presence known. Excuses, rationalization and self pity will begin to take their toll. A negative attitude can add to the inertia, increasing drag, acting as an anchor.

Self doubt can begin to slowly destroy your spirit, overshadow your confidence, bury your talent, and push you to simply quit. The voice within you that always said. “I know I can” grows silent.

Self doubt is a choice, and if you allow it to take root it can diminish the value of your goal substantially. Allow it to grow and get out of control, self doubt will ultimately erase your goal in its entirety, leaving in its wake, a reality marked by unrealized potential, disappointment and pain.

Your choices wield the power to ignore self doubt’s distractions and eliminate them altogether.

You can choose to refuse doubt.

With vision, a positive attitude, and the ‘want to’ to eliminate self doubt, the equation for success is simpler yet: goals equal reality.

Or:

G=R

Expect it.

ex·pec·ta·tion noun \ˌek-ˌspek-ˈtā-shən, ik-\ : a belief that something will happen or is likely to happen

In certain respects, expectation is something beyond just simple belief that something may, is likely to or will happen.

To expect is to muster the forces – mental, physical, emotional and spiritual – necessary to produce a desired reality. To expect is an intention. To direct ourselves with purpose intentionally. To do, to be – and – to give our best.

The expectations we have and have set firm for ourselves – in the form of personal standards – represent intention.

A method of directing ourselves with a higher purpose towards all that we choose to be, where we choose to go and who we choose to become. In raising the bar high for ourselves, we are setting the tone that can carry us through life. Living our life with expectation can create an abundant supply of opportunity. An achievement rich environment where both present and even future circumstances will favor us, and in time, even bending to our will.

Having high expectations and personal standards affirms and reflects our true self and character. It displays our commitment to always and without hesitation “do” and “be” our absolute best.

In time, as we “do” and “be” our best, we will gain confidence and develop a sense of growing mastery. We will no longer feel the need to be so focused inward, but rather detect a tug to look outward. Beyond ourselves. And, to share. Then, we will be in a position to make a very intentional, personal statement with the utmost certainty.

To always “give” our best.

For in one sense, to “do” and to “be” our best represents only a beginning. Learning to “give” our best acts to connect us to some very powerful, lasting and positive thoughts in an entirely different realm of deeds. To be able to develop beyond a “do our best” mode of living and grow into a “give our best” way of being, we are raising that bar of expectation again, once more.

Establishing for ourselves a brand new standard. An expectation born of personal growth. One of sacrifice. A declaration that our original commitment to “do” and “be” has now become one of “to give”. That we will make the best of “what” and “who” we are readily available to all others. Anyone and everyone. No strings attached. Whenever, wherever, however. And therein lies the opportunity.

Giving the best of “what” and “who” we are shows others how much they are valued. Confirming to them how important their achievement and success is to each one of us. It shows them just how much they are loved. Telling them in no uncertain terms that “you deserve the absolute best of me“.

Giving our best to others isn’t about economics, transactions or a “quid pro quo”. Giving others your best is never about an expectation of getting anything in return. Giving your best to others is what you are made for. It is the right thing to do, for their sake and ultimately yours as well.

By giving your best, you are “coaching up” others to aspire to always do their best. In the process, you live and breathe that mindset of high expectation and standards. You gain a level of comfort operating within a personal universe marked by high expectations, a dedication to striving for optimal performance and pursuing excellence.

By giving our best, we allow others to share that same achievement-rich environment where both present and future circumstances will conspire to favor all, bending to our collective will.

Don’t merely believe that something may or will happen.

Expect it.

Trading up.

” My grandfather told me…”to accomplish anything worthwhile, you must pay the price.” My dad taught me that nothing in life would come easy. That I would have to work for those things that I wanted. But work cannot be narrowly defined in only a physical sense. Work is also a mental, emotional and spiritual endeavor as well.

As I grew up, I also came to learn and appreciate that achievement, excellence and success is not a matter of destiny, fate, timing or being in the right place at the right time. For that would mean that we live by chance rather than being guided by intention. To live solely by chance would negate the value and virtue of our effort and commitment. Our perseverance and sacrifice. And ultimately, our purpose.

I learned that in order to “be” or “become” – you needed to intend to “be” or “become”. To be purposeful in your thoughts, words and deeds. I found that to live with intention – and intentionally – is to be guided by purpose.

There will always be a price to pay if you live with intention. If you are purposeful in all that you do. You will have to “give up” to “go up”. You will need to leave some of who and what you “are” behind in order to get to where you want to go. To become what and who you want to be requires sacrifice. And this isn’t easy.

I can assure you that the suffering you encounter along the way – whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual in nature – will be temporary. You are simply giving up comfort, familiarity and the certain in order to press ahead, grow and become what you were intended to be.

You are “trading up”. And after all, wasn’t that your intention? ”

Pastor Ellsworth Freyer

Self.

In order to acquire self mastery, you first need to employ self-discipline.

Once on the path to self mastery, your opportunities will multiply. You will be working from a foundation built for achievement, the pursuit of excellence and eventually – success.

Yet mastery of self is entirely and exclusively reliant on your attitude.

A positive attitude will provide you with safe passage. It prevents you from treading down an ever slippery slope of largely self induced emotional blackmail. It guards you from living down to low expectations. Protects you from acquiescing to the laws of just being average. Settling for whatever happens to come your way.

If you neglect to master your attitude first – you run the risk of limiting or losing the potential that exists in you; in that moment and in the future.

A lack of vigilance when it comes to your attitude can turn you against yourself.

Pitting opportunity against expediency.

You can become your own worst enemy. Choosing the easy way out.

A route that has led many to react rather than respond.

A decision to let emotion and pride rule the day. A poor attitude can and will run roughshod over your talents and aspirations before you even know it.

Especially when it comes to responding to even the smallest bit of adversity.

It can happen in an instant, perhaps in a sequence that goes something like this:

“Crap.

Why me?

Why can’t anything ever be easy, or work the way I want it to?

Why does this always happen to me?

When am I going to catch a break.

I cannot do this any more.

I wish I was somewhere else.

Why can’t this day be over?“

You see what can happen in the span of about 60 seconds?

You can react and send yourself plummeting off the deep end to drown in self pity, defeatism and despair. Yet if you can find it in yourself to respond, to be positive, you could end up carrying that same load in this fashion:

“Wow!

A challenge made just for me.

A chance to test myself again!

I must get all of these opportunities because I can handle them.

When this one is over, I hope I get another chance to reveal my character.

I can do anything if I give it my best !

I am going to make the most of this moment !

An opportunity like this may never come again.

I am made for this. ”

See how that can work for you?

It is how you choose to carry it.

Respond.

And master self.