Fishers High School

THE UNFAIRNESS OF IMPROVEMENT Champions aren’t born. They’re built. That’s the belief at Champions 101, and I hope your belief, too. What that means is that who you are matters, but not as much as who it is you’re working to become. It means striving to become someone worthy of the success you say you’re after. It means becoming the person that winning in the important areas of life requires you to be. Ultimately, it means you’ve got to keep getting better. I’m convinced that of all the qualities and characteristics that set the champions apart, this one - the desire and commitment to keep improving - is at the top of the list. Champions are humble enough to admit that they need to get better. They’re hungry to learn from anyone or anything that can teach them, and they’re tough enough to handle the harsh and rather unfair reality of the improvement process. That fairness issue is an important underlying element of improvement that’s worth talking about here today, mainly because - whether we realize it or not - it’s the thing that keeps so many of us from developing that desire and cultivating that commitment. Fairness is a virtue I think most of us generally want to exist in the world, but one that each one of us desperately wants to exist in our world. We are hard-wired to highlight even the smallest inkling of inequity in our experience. Our inner loser is constantly on the lookout for unfairness, and encourages us to justify it as an excuse for bailing on our pursuit. So while the value of improvement seems obvious and the idea of it seems alluring, the harsh and seemingly unfair reality of it diminishes our desire and undercuts our commitment. The harsh and rather unfair reality is that what improvement gives you doesn't seem like it's worth the cost. Getting better today requires an all-in commitment. You’ve got to give your time, your effort, your energy, and your attention. Once you’ve given all that, you start seeing returns. You know what improvement gives you in return for all that you’ve given? A barely noticeable speck of improvement. And the sobering promise that earning another speck tomorrow will require giving even more than it did today. This equation instantly elevates our unfairness awareness. Our inner loser starts banging on the controls of our internal alert system. “Not worth it! Not worth it!” it screams. And let’s be honest...it’s a valid argument. Look at the image above. When you compare the price that must be paid with the return on that investment? It’s easy for us to focus on the unfairness, and easier still to justify that despite its importance, improvement’s not worth the work. That’s why it’s so important, in this critical area of performance, to do what champions do - to embrace a process-oriented perspective. That means zooming out and seeing the big picture. Choosing that perspective doesn’t diminish the unfairness of today’s transaction, but it does allow you to see more clearly the long-term, compounding value of the commitment you've made. That barely noticeable speck of growth that’s available to you today doesn’t look like much on its own, but stick a month’s worth of those specks together and you’ve got something more substantial. In six months or a year, what you’ve created is obvious to you and probably evident to others. And that process continues over time. When you see the big picture, you see that your daily commitment to getting better slowly and gradually sets you apart - not only from those you’re competing with and against, but maybe even more importantly, from that old, mediocre version of who you used to be. So if champions aren’t born, they’re built, then this, unfortunately, is the harsh reality of what that long, slow, sometimes painful building process looks like. The question today is - despite its apparent unfairness - do you have the desire...and the commitment...and the toughness it takes to embrace that process? That starts with accepting the steep price you're required to pay. It means fighting the voice of your inner loser, who’ll be working relentlessly to get you to bail on this pursuit. And it means zooming out, seeing the big picture, and trusting in the long-term, compounding value of your work. Yes, it’s unfair…but it’s the only way to become someone worthy of the success you say you’re after, and the only way to become the person that winning in the important areas of life requires you to be. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHAMPIONS 101 NEWSLETTER HERE. Copyright Champions 101. All rights reserved.