Why Not You? Why Not Today
Executing with Expectation
This is part 5, and the final installment, of the fall series, Come ALIVE and Stay ALIVE: 5 Simple Practices (Activate, Listen, Internalize, Visualize, & Execute) to help you start strong and stay focused for life. Subscribe now to receive these free principles delivered to your inbox every Monday morning.
My college football coach, Jimmie Keeling, often told us a story of two men stranded on an island about 4 miles from the mainland. Although they were only 4 miles from the mainland, nobody realized they were stranded—it was a very remote location. After days of hunger and thirst, one of the men, let’s call him Carl, decided the only choice was to swim across to the mainland. The other, we’ll call him Bob, decided to wait for a rescue because he couldn’t swim.
Bob watched Carl successfully swim across to the mainland. But exhausted, Carl experienced a full-body cramp and couldn’t move to get help. Carl yelled to Bob that the only way for them to survive was for Bob to swim across. “I’ll walk you through the process of how to swim,” yelled Carl. Finally convinced this was the only way for their survival, Bob waded the waters and then began swimming across the channel to the mainland while heeding Carl’s directives.
Stroke by stroke, Bob made significant headway. However, about three-fourths of the way to shore, Bob could no longer hear Carl’s voice guiding him to shore. Carl passed out from exhaustion. Confused and scared, Bob panicked. He began swimming frantically until he was back ashore. When Carl woke up, he was perplexed. Where was Bob? Afraid his friend drowned, he searched the waters and yelled Bob’s name until he saw movement on the island shore. It was Bob! But why was Bob back on the island?
“What happened? Why are you back at the island,” Carl yelled.
“I didn’t hear your voice anymore, and I panicked,” Bob replied from the island. “I didn’t know how to swim, so I returned!”
How many people do you know, like Bob? Are you the Bob on the island, putting in 75% of the work required to be great, only to doubt yourself at the time of execution? Maybe you don’t doubt yourself. Perhaps you give up on your dreams because the steady persistence has worn you out. Regardless, we don’t have to fall short of greatness if we complete the process to Come ALIVE.
You’ve done all the work to prepare yourself:
You’ve activated your mind and body to be present in the moment with appreciation and gratitude.
You’ve dialed in on what your coaches and body are saying by listening with love.
You’ve internalized your intentions by following the instructions with verbal positive self-talk, breathing, and gathering all the necessary tools to help you accomplish the task.
You’ve visualized your validation, closed your eyes, and mentally walked (or ran) yourself step-by-step, doing everything perfectly and necessary to achieve greatness.
Now, it’s time to execute. Sometimes, after we’ve done everything to prepare ourselves mentally, we get to the start line, panic, throw all of our hard mental work out the window, and forget to rely on all of the mental and physical training.
But when we consider clutch moments or performances in sports, the people who rise to the occasion take with them all the principles to Come ALIVE.
A most recent example came in game 3 of the WNBA Finals. Sabrina Ionescu hit a 3-point shot with just one second left in the game to seal a victory for the New York Liberty. When asked about the shot, Ionescu said her coach told her she would take the last shot. Instead of panicking, she remembered her principles. “I’ve practiced that shot a thousand times, in my head, on the court,” Ionescu told the press. When the moment came, she executed with the expectation the shot would be good—and it was.
But it’s not just athletes who initiate clutch moments in history. “Average” everyday Americans heeded the call during World War 2 to ensure the tyranny of the Nazi regime didn’t spread worldwide. From the American Red Cross, Civil defense, American Volunteer Groups, to American Women’s Voluntary Services and the USO, virtually every American did their part in a clutch moment of history to secure liberty and justice for all.
The lesson from Bob, who “couldn’t swim,” Sabrina Ionescu, and early 20th Century Americans is to remain persistent, trust your training, and serve with a higher purpose in mind. Take everything you’ve done so far to the start line of today, and when the opportunity arises, commit yourself 100% to the job. Let go of the what-ifs and press into the right now. When the weight of persistence becomes too much to bear, consider a bigger purpose than yourself to serve. When the opportunities present themselves, nothing is left to do except execute.
Everyone is capable of greatness. Everyone is capable of experiencing the fullness of life by pouring out every ounce of focus and effort into their execution. Everyone can Come ALIVE. Why not you? Why not today?