Getting over the Hump

Years ago, I was a solid racquetball player. One of our other assistant coaches, Sam Mann, began playing.  Sam was a strong athlete, fresh out of playing professional baseball.  We’d compete, and I would beat him soundly.  He caught the racquetball bug and started playing frequently.  It went from easy wins to us playing close matches.  Soon he would have me down big, but the old veteran would sneak out a win.  He was frustrated. I knew, however, my winning days were numbered. 

Eventually, he beat me.  Here’s the crazy thing: we probably played 10-15 times after that.  I never won again.  He got over the hump and never looked back. 

Last week, I was reminded of this story watching the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Entering their two most recent matchups, the Browns were 7-42-1 since 1994 against their rivals.

The Browns, in my opinion, have possessed the better roster for a few years. Despite their talent, they still struggled to overcome the Steelers.  Things looked bleak again this year. In the October matchup, they were embarrassed 38-7. 

Over the course of the season the Browns continued to improve.  Entering the regular season finale, they needed to beat the Steelers in order to qualify for their first playoff game in 18 years.  The Steelers had already secured a playoff appearance- the game would not affect their situation.  With this information in mind, the Steelers decided to rest several of their key players. 

The Browns narrowly won the game versus what many skeptics called the “Steeler’s JV Team,” 28-24.  The win put the Browns in the playoffs. Even more interesting, it set up another matchup with the Steelers. 

Despite several players being injured and their Head Coach, Kevin Stefanski, unavailable  because of COVID-19- the Browns won the playoff game in a convincing fashion.  

They finally overcame their nemesis. 

Reflection Opportunity

There are two lessons to consider from these stories: 

Lesson 1: Stay on the Gas.  Winning is a habit; so is losing.  Acquiring the talent and resources is the easy part. Overcoming the mental hurdle is the major obstacle.  “Mind control” over your opponent is hard earned.  It’s important to do whatever is possible (within the rules of course) to keep the edge.  The Steelers made the choice to rest starters; a sound decision on the surface.  Could that decision, however, have given the Browns a slight mental edge?

Lesson 2: Keep Knocking. The path to greatness is rarely a linear process.  To overcome the inevitable setbacks, resilience is necessary. It’s important to keep showing up and chipping away. Sometimes it feels impossible. It’s not.  It does take grit and perseverance to achieve meaningful goals. So often teams, organizations, and individuals quit right before their breakthrough.    

Final Thought:

I encourage you to keep charging forward.  If you have an edge, fight to keep it.  If you are chasing, keep pounding the rock. Your big victory is right around the corner!