I once heard an interesting statement from Urban Meyer, who was commenting on the “miracle” season for the Ohio State Buckeyes. For those who don’t remember, 2014 was referred to as the “miracle year” for OSU. Ohio State had won the first ever Big 10 National Championship. What made the win even more impressive was the fact that no one believed in the Ohio State football team. They were the epitome of underdogs. So when Ohio State won the Championship and immortalized their name in football history, then head coach Meyer was asked how it was done. He very clearly explained how it was done, he talked about the importance of mindset.
According to Coach Meyer, it was essential that before a football team can ever become a championship team, they had to think like champions. He even went to the extent of drafting a code, very similar to the ones recited by Navy Seals, in order to reinforce his teams defining principles. He borrowed principles and tactics from special forces in the Us military. This could be seen as overkill, but the results speak for themselves. Ohio State became the first ever Big 10 champions, when virtually all odds were against them.
You’re provably thinking, ‘yeah that’s great and all, but I’m not in a football team, what does this have to do with me?’ I mention this because we are at a very interesting point in 2024. The New Year is in full swing, and we are nearing the third week of 2024. According to most studies, approximately 95% of people who set resolutions, give up by the third week. Not great numbers for anyone looking to make a change in their lives. Numbers are great, but sometimes numbers only give us half the story. What the numbers aren’t telling us is why do so many people fail?
This brings us back around to what Coach was talking about. When Ohio State won the Big 10 Championship in 2014 that was an impressive win, but what made it such a great win was the year 2013. In 2013 Ohio State had a very dismal year. Loss piled on top of loss. There was nothing to indicate that OSU could make a comeback. By shifting their mindset, Ohio State was able to make one of the greatest comebacks in college football history.
This is a vital lesson for the rest of us. If we wish to initiate real change in our lives, it all starts with our mindset. There are two components that make up our mindset. First of all we have to make a commitment. That’s a dirty word these days (especially in college football). Commitment doesn’t mean intention. I can intend to do something all day long, but intention and action are two different things. In order to become truly effective, commitment is what’s required. Commitment means that no matter what, no matter how hard the obstacles become, no matter how man unforeseen circumstances arise. you are still going to see your project through.
Commitment is essential, but still only half of the equation. The other half of mindset is controlling our thoughts. Virtually every great athlete, artist, trainer, you name it discusses how essential it is for you to control your thoughts. A lot of people (myself included) struggle with self-doubt. It’s an easy trap to fall into. We want to do well at whatever it is we’re working on. It’s only natural. But if we truly wish to grow beyond our current limits, then we have to truly believe in what we’re doing. I once heard heavyweight champion Mike Tyson relate that every day he would recite, “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better”, for 100 consecutive times. This is the importance of mental training. If you need to repeat something 100 times in order to get it into your brain, then do so. Whatever it takes.
With commitment and belief we can become unstoppable. Anything becomes possible. Like in my own case, maybe eventually I’ll write a 1,000+ page epic like Brandon Sanderson.
