'That's crazy!' 'Man, they are nuts!' 'I don't know how they do it.'
These are comments that I often here when people observe teams or athletes practicing at unusual times, days, or under unusual circumstances. 5:30 a.m. workouts. Saturday sessions. Late night film habits.
I know Steph Curry's high school basketball coach. He claims that when Steph Curry was a sophomore in high school, Steph needed to make an adjustment on how he shot the ball. He spent an entire summer shooting only shots inside of the lane. That's less than 15 feet away from the rim. That is unusual. It also laid the groundwork for Steph to become the arguably the best shooter in NBA history. Ironically, Steph Curry is most known from his long-range shooting from distances almost 30 feet away from the rim.
There is often a correlation between unusual commitment and unusual results. I can't think of a single example of a meaningfully successful player or team that wasn't unusually involved long before their 'unusual' result. I think it's often a great way to prepare yourself to pursue a goal. If the goal is unusual, then the only way you are going to accomplish it is with things that are...well...unusual. The reverse is also true, if you are not willing to put in unusual effort than you really should not expect unusual results. Unusual efforts are the precursor to unusual results, and unusual efforts have a way of returning compounding results. This means unusual efforts usually yield far more results that originally hoped for. Darren Hardy is the founder of Success Magazine. He describes the multiplying results of unusual daily disciplines and habits, the compound effect. 'Successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful aren't long before the results show up.' In essence, successful people are unusual.
Now here's where I'm would like to challenge you. There should be at least one area in your life that you are pursuing something that will only be achieved with unusual efforts. It should require that you work on it multiple times per week. It should require a sacrifice of time and effort. It should be inconvenient in the short term. It should have serious benefit in the long term. It should require you to say no to somethings that you enjoy but you can go without for awhile. I think there's a lot of benefits to a regular pursuit of something unusual. Here's three that come to mind...
- You'll develop a growing understanding of how to produce results in your own life
- You'll develop a growing confidence that you can produce results in your own life
- It is a great example to loved ones around you
Where would you like to be unusual? A degree or certification? A prayer habit? A nutritional change? A healthier marriage? A fitness goal? The areas of your life and people that would benefit if you were unusual are almost limitless.
Pick one, and start being unusual.
These are comments that I often here when people observe teams or athletes practicing at unusual times, days, or under unusual circumstances. 5:30 a.m. workouts. Saturday sessions. Late night film habits.
I know Steph Curry's high school basketball coach. He claims that when Steph Curry was a sophomore in high school, Steph needed to make an adjustment on how he shot the ball. He spent an entire summer shooting only shots inside of the lane. That's less than 15 feet away from the rim. That is unusual. It also laid the groundwork for Steph to become the arguably the best shooter in NBA history. Ironically, Steph Curry is most known from his long-range shooting from distances almost 30 feet away from the rim.
Now here's where I'm would like to challenge you. There should be at least one area in your life that you are pursuing something that will only be achieved with unusual efforts. It should require that you work on it multiple times per week. It should require a sacrifice of time and effort. It should be inconvenient in the short term. It should have serious benefit in the long term. It should require you to say no to somethings that you enjoy but you can go without for awhile. I think there's a lot of benefits to a regular pursuit of something unusual. Here's three that come to mind...
- You'll develop a growing understanding of how to produce results in your own life
- You'll develop a growing confidence that you can produce results in your own life
- It is a great example to loved ones around you
Where would you like to be unusual? A degree or certification? A prayer habit? A nutritional change? A healthier marriage? A fitness goal? The areas of your life and people that would benefit if you were unusual are almost limitless.
Pick one, and start being unusual.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on
being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read
about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few
degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school
sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated
most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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