Championship Mindset Series: Humility as a Key to Success
Humility as a Key to Success
Picture this…there’s a man out in the woods. He’s been there for days attempting to chop down a tree for firewood. He has made little to no progress. He’s changed his technique, tried increasing the frequency and intensity of his strikes, and still no progress has been made. Over the last few days, other individuals have come up to him in an attempt to help, telling him the things he needs to change and how he can chop down this tree more successfully. The man, despite receiving advice, insists on going his own way as he has come too far now to admit he has made a mistake and restart from the beginning. So, he continues with other methods and still, no progress. The tool that this man has been using…a stick.
Our Way versus The Process’s Way
It's easy to hear this story and think, “this guy is an idiot.” But the truth is, how many times in our lives do we find ourselves so frustrated at our lack of progress and convince ourselves that the right answer is to try harder, maybe increase our intensity or frequency of our practicing, and even make small tweaks to our craft. Just like the man in the story, most of the time we go with “work harder” instead of “work smarter” because we refuse to admit that what we have been doing isn’t working and that we need to make big changes at the core of what we are doing. We lack humility, the ability to admit that “our way” isn’t working and allow the process and results to guide what “way” we enact. The answer isn’t work harder almost 90% of the time. The answer is work smarter THEN work harder.
Work Smarter then Work Harder
We cannot be successful by refusing to work smarter, and we cannot be successful unless we are willing to rewrite everything and start back from square one. Success and growth require humility. Stop trying to push things that just aren’t working. You will never be able to chop down a tree with a stick no matter how hard you try. Listen to the process, listen to what is needed. Allow the process to guide how you can work smarter, then continue trudging forward and work even harder.
