IS HOW YOU DO ANYTHING HOW YOU DO EVERYTHING?
If you’re involved with sports for long, you start hearing some popular phrases - coachisms, you might call them - again and again. One mantra uttered at almost every level of competition says simply, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” The origin of this quote is unclear. In Simon Sinek’s book, Leaders Eat Last, he attributes it to Zen Buddhists. What is clear is that wherever it came from, it’s now made its way into the messaging of motivators everywhere. It’s clear and concise. That’s probably why coaches love it so much. The real question, though, is...is it true? Is how you do anything really how you do everything?
In reality, how you do anything doesn’t have to be how you do everything. Critics of that mantra would rightfully argue that some things in life are more important and garner more of our attention than others, and for good reason. It’s entirely possible to be really committed, really focused, and really disciplined in an area of life that you really care about, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take it easy in areas that don’t matter as much. Commitment and focus and discipline aren’t binary characteristics. They don’t have a switch that only offers two options: all the way on or all the way off.
Critics would argue commitment and focus and discipline are controlled more often by something like a dial, one you can turn up when they’re needed and turn down when they’re not. It’s a logical argument that stands up to the best test of all - real life. Most people live every day in alignment with the belief - or maybe more like the hope - that how they do anything doesn’t have to be how they do everything.
But I do want you to see today why that belief can be dangerous, especially for those of us who say we want to be champions in some important area of life. While it’s true that we can give our all in the most important areas and take it easy in the less important areas, it’s also true that we aren’t always good at recognizing one from the other. Some of the things we can easily label as unimportant are actually really important, like the boring, basic, or fundamental work we’ve done countless times already and are required to do yet again today. The champion’s approach to that kind of work is one obvious way he or she separates themselves from everyone else. Champions don’t get bored with the basics. They know excellence is forged in the fundamentals. Plus, they recognize that you never know who’s watching - and maybe even evaluating - that work you’re tempted to diminish.
Here’s the other danger in turning your commitment, your focus, and your discipline up and down on a dial: we are constantly training ourselves for something. As the Navy Seals famously say, “You don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training.” Every time you choose to take it easy, you are once again validating your character and identity, either intentionally or unintentionally. When your big moment arrives, I have no doubt you’ll want to step under the bright lights of the big stage and be at your best. You’ll want to rise to the occasion. But who is it you will have trained yourself to be in all those hours you spent preparing in the dark?
If you’re committed to becoming a champion, then it’s worth recognizing that how you do anything doesn’t have to be how you do everything, but how you do anything can be how you do everything. Even those most menial tasks, the ones most people consider basic, boring, or fundamental, can be performed with a commitment to excellence. You can choose to do anything - everything, for that matter - with an elite level of focus and discipline. You can give this thing you’re doing right here and right now you’re full attention and your best effort. This moment. This assignment. This drill. This conversation. This meeting. You can assume someone important is watching - and maybe even evaluating - this work you haven’t allowed yourself to diminish.
Ultimately, you can use anything and everything as training for whatever big, important things you’re dreaming about doing someday. Every time you choose that approach, you are intentionally validating your identity as a winner. When you’re big moment arrives, you’ll be prepared to step under the bright lights of the big stage and be at your best. People will probably ask you what led to your winning performance, and in that moment you can answer them honestly. You can tell them, it was anything and everything.