CHAMPIONS RESPOND
Sometimes it can be really hard to do what champions do. Of course, it's easy to be our best when things are going well - when we’re on top of our game, when everyone’s on the same page, and when everything sticks to the script. But when challenges and setbacks impede our pursuit, things can get tricky. That's when doing what champions do gets tough. It’s worth considering today, if you really want to be someone worthy of winning, what you do when adversity hits. Do you react? Or do you respond?
There’s a big difference between reacting and responding. Reacting is an instinctive reply to a challenging moment. It’s our natural comeback to whatever just happened, usually based on how that moment has made us feel. The truth is, the choice we make when we react usually doesn’t seem like much of a choice. It just happens. It's what comes out before we have time to think. Reacting is our impulsive, auto-pilot answer to that question adversity always asks…”so now what?”
When we allow ourselves to react, we hand the keys over to our emotion. In that moment our champion self is no longer driving our decisions. Our best takes a backseat. And while our emotion might be pretty good at helping us feel better in the moment, it's not an effective or trustworthy decision maker. When it hands the keys back, we often find that our emotion has moved us farther from our desired destination, from that winning outcome we say we’re after.
Responding, on the other hand, is different. For one, it’s much harder. Not surprisingly, doing what champions do doesn’t typically come easy or naturally. Responding is a disciplined, intentional decision we make in a tough moment - not based on what we feel, but instead usually in spite of what we feel. It’s a choice we’ve made clearly and thoughtfully, the measured answer to that question…”so now what?”
Choosing to respond in our moment of challenge means refusing to hand the keys over to our emotion. Instead of simply going along for the ride, choosing to respond keeps us in the driver’s seat. We own the moment and the choices we make. In doing so we increase the odds that whatever we do moves us closer to our desired destination, not farther from it.
So how do champions do that? How do they find what it takes to respond instead of react? The truth is, it's a decision they've made well in advance of their challenging moment. Long before their emotion shows up and starts begging for the keys, champions have constructed the kind of winning response they know will be required of them. They’ve clarified for themselves the answers to some important questions…
What is my desired destination? What is the winning outcome I’m after?
What kind of adversity might I face along the way?
How might I be tempted to react when things get tough? And how might that hinder my pursuit?
What would a winning response in my challenging moments look like?
Have I built/Am I building the discipline it will take to choose the way of the champion?
The champion's winning response has been constructed in quiet moments of reflection and is bolstered by an increased understanding of who they are, where they want to go, and the reality of what it takes to get there. Today might be a good day for you to stop and reflect - to clarify who you are, where you want to go, and what it will take for you to get there. If what you're after is big and important, you can bet challenges and setbacks will be part of the experience. When adversity hits, the champion will be ready to respond. The question is...will you?