Another Gear

I don't remember the exact year, but I vividly remember the scene.... Late in an NBA playoff game, Michael Jordan, suffering from the flu and all it's associated debilitating symptoms, demands the ball in the closing seconds to drain a last second, buzzer beating 3-pointer to send the Bulls to another Championship.

Or,

Tiger Woods, facing defeat in the closing holes of the final round of the US Open, chips in from 10 yards off the green, rolling the ball through turns, bumps, and breaks until it drops in the cup handing him the title.

Or,

Roger, late in the fifth set of a grand slam final, looking at break point, and comes up with yet another mind blowing series of shots to deliver one of his 19 Grand Slam titles.

Or,

Serena, countless times, down a set and two breaks, digs deep and activates a well of will that turns the match, and the title, in her favor.

Or,

the '80's era US Hockey team beating Russia for the chance at Olympic Gold, against all odds and a long negative history.

Or,

(as much as I hate to re-live it) the NE Patriots, completely out of the Super Bowl against Atlanta, somehow find a way to reverse the irreversable, and win the title from the biggest and latest deficit in history.

What do all these legendary performances have in common? These athletes, facing elimination, defeat, and obscurity, find a way to "FIND ANOTHER GEAR", and take their games to a new level in order to achieve the unimaginable. They reach beyond their

own restrictions, limitations, and "normal" performance levels to produce sublime demonstrations of truly rare skill. It's not something every athlete can do. But it's something every athlete should TRY to do.

Fight the tendency to play carefully, and hold back your talent. Buck the trend to worry about results and outcomes, paralyzing your creativity and flexibility. In those incredibly intense moments where your competitive existence hangs in the balance, rely on your training and your skills to keep you in that moment, to perform only in that moment, and to make absolutely everything of that moment. If you approach these situations in this way will it guarantee your success? Absolutely not. But the more you fight, the more you believe. The more you believe, the more you achieve. After many episodes of trying to get to that "Zone" of peak performance when it matters most, you will get there more often.

Practice having the courage to fail, the bravery to push yourself to that rarified air , REGARDLESS of the outcome. In this way you give yourself the chance to trluy perform to your capabilities. And you give yourself the opportunity to enjoy the benefits you gain when you "Find Another Gear".