TO WIN, ZOOM IN
Last weekend one of our Champions 101 schools from Broomfield, Colorado was competing in the girls softball state championship. The athletic director reached out and asked if I would be willing to record a brief video message of encouragement for the girls as they prepared for what I knew would be the biggest game of their lives. What do you say to a team who’s so close to achieving their dream - a team you know wants it so bad, and who’s undoubtedly feeling the excitement, the nervousness, and even the anxiety of the historic opportunity in front of them?
In my experience as both an athlete and a coach, that's a feeling I'm familiar with. The idea of doing something meaningful and significant brings with it some powerful emotions. I would argue that in many ways, those feelings are natural and even healthy. They confirm that we are competitors, and that what we’re doing matters. But I also know that if we aren't careful, our strong desire to win can also lead us down an unhealthy and unproductive path, where we spend our time projecting ourselves into the future, and allowing the “what-ifs” of an unknown outcome - both good and bad - to consume our energy and our attention.
So my message to the girls at Broomfield was simple. If you want to win, then zoom in. That starts with recognizing that in any important area of life, a successful outcome is actually the byproduct of the process it takes to get there. The best formula for ending the day as a champion is to focus on embracing that process - on winning each of the small moments between now and then. Fight the urge to focus on the destination, and instead recalibrate your energy and attention on giving your very best to the moment you’re currently in. Commit to winning right where your feet are. Don’t win this game, win this inning. Don’t win this inning, win this at-bat. Don’t win this at-bat, win this pitch. If that’s your focus - on zooming in and winning each individual moment, over and over and over again - then I’m confident you’ll put yourself in the best position to earn the outcome you’re after.
I realize here today that you probably aren't preparing to play the biggest softball game of your life. But I bet there are some areas where you really want to win, and I’m confident the message I shared with the Broomfield girls can apply to you and your pursuit, too. Maybe you're battling the excitement, the nervousness, or even the anxiety that comes with an unknown outcome. Maybe you’ve found yourself down that unhealthy and unproductive path of projecting into the future, and allowing the “what-ifs” out there - both good and bad - to consume your energy and attention. That’s an easy trap for any of us to fall into, but it’s not an effective formula for doing the big, important things you want to do.
So to you today, I say…to win, zoom in. The best formula for earning the outcome you want is to focus on embracing that process - on winning each of the moments between now and then. Fight the urge to focus on the destination, and focus instead on giving your very best to the moment you’re currently in. Focus on winning right where your feet are. Just like softball can be broken down - from the big game to the individual inning, from the individual inning to each at-bat, from each at-bat to a single pitch - there are pieces to your process, too. Your successful outcome will be a by-product of the process it takes to get there.
That’s what the girls at Broomfield did last weekend. They won their school's first softball state championship - one inning, one at-bat, one pitch at a time. Each of us would be wise to adopt this winning approach for ourselves. To fight the urge to project ourselves into the future, and keep from allowing the “what-ifs” out there - both good and bad - to consume our energy and attention. To recognize that putting ourselves in the best position to get what we want isn't easy, but it is simple: if we want to win, then need to zoom in.
