Fishers High School

CHAMPIONS CHANGE Champions aren’t born. They’re built. That’s the foundational belief here at Champions 101 – that any of us can become people worthy of winning…if we commit to the building process. Champions have made a commitment to all that becoming their best requires, including the places they realize they aren’t who they could be or who they need to be. They are committed to doing the hardest work there is: the work it takes to change. Changing for the better starts with a sense of self-awareness, the ability to see ourselves clearly and objectively, for better or for worse. When we’re young and immature, that’s hard to do. That’s why we need leaders in our lives – important people like parents, coaches, and teachers who are committed to our development, even when we might not be. We need people who will tell us the truth about what it takes, people who will encourage us to make the commitment to changing for ourselves, and people who will hold us accountable to that commitment moving forward. At some point, though - if we're serious about winning - we have to cultivate for ourselves the maturity and the self-awareness it takes to own our own improvement. When we do that, it gets easier to accept that we aren’t perfect, and easier to accept that our weaknesses aren’t something to be scared of - they’re something to be worked on. Instead of trying to hide or ignore our deficiencies, we develop the discipline it takes to improve them – to change for the better – not because someone else wants it for us, but because we want it for ourselves. In immaturity, others have to help us see that changing is something we can do. In maturity, we see for ourselves that changing is something we can’t not do. We're able to fully embrace the process of improvement, and recognize that even though we aren't as good as we ought to be, as good as we want to be, or as good as we're going to be...we are better than we used to be. In the midst of your relentless pursuit of success, it can be difficult to recognize those bad habits or unhealthy mindsets that are holding you back. It can be hard to see where you need to change. That’s why it’s good on occasion - like here today, for instance - to press pause. To stop and reflect, and to honestly and intentionally evaluate where it is that winning requires you to improve. This kind of work isn’t comfortable or convenient, but it is important. And the fact that it’s difficult should probably validate that it’s the kind of work that champions are committed to doing. If you’re willing to step into that discomfort, I’m confident some potential areas of improvement will be revealed. Maybe in all honesty today, that information’s obvious…and has been for some time. Either way, what you have in front of you today is an opportunity to do what champions do. To choose a different behavior. To choose a better response. To choose a healthier approach or a more effective mindset or a new and better and more compelling plan for doing the big, important things you say you want to do. Today is an opportunity to do the one thing that your success might just be waiting on you to do: to change.