We’ve all felt it, doubt. That moment when you think to yourself. “I could never do that!” Or, “ Yeah right, of course Joe Shmoe is going to win the competition, I am not going to apply.” This happens to all people, young and old. It is an internal negative look on external things put in front of us. Lets call it the “Hell no” reaction. The last time I had the Hell No feeling was when I heard of a job opening at Intel. A friend told me about it, "You need to apply! He exclaimed. I immediately told myself, “Hell No!”. Then I went off and found reasons why I was not fit for the job. Eventually the job went away. Duh, right! Jobs don't stay open forever. I defeated myself. I could lose to others but to myself? What kinds of crap is that?
I played sports in high school, and believe it or not, I hated losing. "Hell no" was nowhere to be found, it was actually the opposite problem. I was never very good at sports, but I hated to lose. Deep down in my core I could hear voices telling me that I could win. “I can get off the line of scrimmage faster than my opponent”, I would tell myself. “I can get to the quarterback”! The biggest issue was that my body literally didn't have the muscle to perform at the level I wanted. I played defensive end for four years. When I was a junior, our seniors were undefeated and we went to the quarter finals, we ultimately lost because of the lack of leadership from the seniors, (but thats another blog post) Sounds fun right? Well it wasn't. I had my butt handed to me all season, being used as the dummy for all the drills. The next year I was pretty good. Half way through the season Nathan Bratzel, our top defensive end, failed a class. Guess who all of a sudden had to start on Friday nights? This guy! By then I had a little more muscle, but on top of that I had developed the mental capacity to believe in myself. My first football coach called me a late bloomer (Im still am figuring that one out), but in regards for football, I had bloomed. I was pretty good. I was still not the all-star I imagined myself to be, but at least I wasn't jumping off sides every time I got on the field!
"Effort is one of the roots available to the underdog. I can outwork you. I may not be able to outspend you. But I can outwork you." Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell hits the nail on the head. I never had fancy cleats, cool new clothes, or the the stash of pre workout supplements to help my efforts on the field. However I did have the mental ability to push harder. I stayed longer, ran longer, and put more effort into my workouts than anyone. Actually Sean Deloney and Nathan Palmer pushed pretty hard as well, but you get the point.
All leaders will reach times where "Hell No" gets a hold of them. And it sucks right? We can’t control it because we’re human. Applying for jobs, college, committing to relationships. You decide before you have a shot, "Nope can’t do____ "'. We believe deeply in our abilities, and other times we don't. When I first heard of the Intel job I had one of those "Hell No" moments. What changed? Nothing really, except the way I think. About a month later another Intel job opened up, this time I didn't have a "Hell No" moment. I thought about the opportunity through a positive filter. Shawn Achor, in his book The Happiness Advantage, talks about the positive effect in peoples lives when we focus our brains to think positively. This time the job was a perfect fit. I knew I was qualified, but more than my qualifications I knew I was the person for the job. So I applied, and I have been working hard to not give Intel any reason for not hiring me.
What is your "Hell No"? Lets turn it into “Hell Yes!” Write down 3 goals you are thinking about, they can be anything, small things, big things. My three things are
- Getting in the best shape of my life.
- Reading everyday at least 30 minutes.
- Sending a thank you everyday.
When you think about your goals, tell yourself the thing that Russell Wilson, the leader of the Seattle Seahawks, told his team before their Super Bowl winning season began.
"Why not us?"
So why not you?
Remember David defeated Goliath
Take your three goals and own them, because at the end of the day your leadership matters. Your development matters. And being positive gives you an advantage.
Share your goals on my Leadership Matters Page on Facebook
Editor Holly. H
Link to interview of Malcolm Gladwell talking about his book David and Goliath
Link to Book The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
No comments:
Post a Comment