Do you Rise or Fall?

02/23/24

One of my favorite quotes by Archilochus says, “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” I could write a book about all the implications that could be derived by this one quote, but I want to specifically reflect on it in connection to performance.

It’s safe to say all athletes have expectations related to their performance they are striving to achieve. Further, I’d say most athletes tend to have abnormally high expectations regarding their goals because of their competitive and driven nature. Setting goals as athletes is a critical component to being an athlete; however, setting goals and accomplishing goals are two different things.

The bridge between setting and achieving goals is the process. The process of the physical and mental training is what yields positive results.

If I had to summarize my main takeaway from the quote regarding performance it would be, what separates wanting to be a winner and actually being a winner is your commitment to the process. The process includes your physical and mental training, sleep habits, eating habits, relational habits, personal habits, etc. Your process produces your product. Unlike many life situations, in sports, when you perform you have nowhere to hide. The work you put in, is what will come out. The clock, scoreboard, and stats don’t lie. In that way, there is a unique built in accountability measure as an athlete, that can act as a motivator for many.

My question to athletes is simple, Do you tend to RISE or FALL when you perform?

Does every athlete have moments where they rise and fall, absolutely, that’s normal. What I’m getting at is what is your pattern?

Occasional and consistent success are two different things. Are you occasionally or consistently committed to your process of practice and training? Are you occasionally or consistently utilizing mental skills and techniques before, during, and after performance? Are you occasionally or consistently working on your sleep hygiene and diet? The list goes on…

Expectations without intentional effort is empty. Failing at something by default means you tried and exerted effort to achieve something. You can only fail so many times before your efforts and experience eventually yields success, IF you are committed to getting better every day.

My dad who was a former professional coach, had a slogan with his teams he used “1% better!” meaning every day we are going to try and get 1% better at everything we do as players, coaches, and team.

What would getting 1% better in your daily training, habits, and patterns look like? What would getting 1% better in your mind, body, and spirit every day look like?

Remember, rising is a process in itself! Whether it’s a cake rising in the oven, the sun rising in the morning, rising to the top of a mountain….all of these things take TIME and EFFORT.

Doing the small things well consistently every day, is what will lead to your ability to RISE in the moments in your performance that matter most.

Every day you have an opportunity to wake up and challenge yourself to rise, no matter how many times you’ve fallen the day before.