Every Friday I pick my six year old up from school for our weekly private lesson. Obviously preferring to put forth zero additional effort after a long week behind a school desk, she asked me two weeks ago in a very irritating and whiny voice, “Why do I have to train today, IT’S VETERANS DAY!?” Don’t worry, I’m not gonna bore you through another story of just how excellent a parent I am. The point is, it’s easy to make excuses. Obviously Veteran’s day has absolutely nothing to do with training. But the reality is that a tendency to not make ridiculous excuses, translates to a propensity to overcome legitimate adversity in high pressure scenarios. Take for example two students: Eddie Excuses and Gustavo Get-er-done. Both have a sprained ankle and both had planned to train one morning when they wake up to an unexpected 9″ of snow. Eddie Excuses texts Coach, “I should probably let my ankle heal. Plus, my car is snowed in. I’m gonna stay home.” Coach does not respond. Gustavo Get-er-Done on the other hand, skips his typical breakfast to make time to shovel his car out the driveway. And when he gets to the gym, he focuses on his guard work since that won’t really make his ankle any worse. Three weeks later both students have a competition. Both students still have a minor sprained ankle, forget their lucky mouth guard, and have a bit of a cold. On the way to the venue, Eddie Excuses is already rationalizing why he won’t perform his best….he doesn’t have his lucky mouth guard for crying out loud! Gustavo Get-er-done on the other hand, also not amped at the less than ideal conditions, repeats to himself, “It’s easy to make excuses. Champions succeed in spite of them.” Eddie has lost in his mind before he even steps on the mats. Gustavo has an excellent performance. At the end of the day, ridiculous excuses and legitimate setbacks are all just obstacles in the way of your goal. Conditions are rarely ideal. It’s easy to make excuses. Decide. Commit. And follow through in spite of them. You’re much more likely to achieve success.
– Coach Jordan
Owner/Program Director