I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel…
Johnny Cash
Many years ago, I taught a workshop entitled “Making the Transition to Executive Leadership” to a very senior group of Federal managers. They were whiney and pissed off that they were forced to go to more training. One of them confronted me at the first break asking me what gave me the right to train all of them. It was one of the toughest things I’ve done up to about that point. They challenged me on nearly every point I made. Each morning, I woke up at 3AM to prep for the upcoming day. At the end of each day, I was physically and emotionally exhausted.
The good news was that I not only survived the week, but received outstanding critiques. I really had to work hard for this one and it paid off.
I do so many workshops that at times I am tempted to put it on autopilot and just coast in. I never do though, my audiences deserve far more. It’s quite rare however that I put in so much prep time before each day. That week I learned that challenging myself is a great thing to do. A good challenge brought out the best in me.
One of the greatest fights I ever watched was Buster Douglas’s knockout victory over Mike Tyson in 1990. Tyson took the 42-1 underdog Douglas too lightly and paid the price. Tyson’s prior string of easy victories caused him to disregard preparing for Douglas and was never the same after that fight.
When was the last time you really challenged yourself?
Are you at a place right not where what you do on a daily basis is so easy that you could do it in your sleep? Does excellence come so natural to you that you don’t work at it anymore? If so, why not challenge yourself this week to do something totally different? Shake things up a little. Here are some suggestions:
- Take a different way in when you drive to work
- Take the bus or carpool for a change
- Talk to a stranger
- Begin a project that requires different skills than you normally use
- Place yourself on a new team
- Ask your boss for an assignment that will make you research and study
- Take on a new exercise routine
Mediocrity is the eventual result of a life without significant challenges. Don’t allow your rut to guide you into poor performance. Don’t be lulled into just existing. Maybe like the lyric above, you need to hurt yourself to see if you still feel (figuratively of course!). I know now that excellent performance needs to be worked at each and every day. Let’s commit to working toward that together this week!