Treating Your Work Like There’s a Championship at Stake

Last night I’m sitting at a bar with a friend. While we’re talking, the tvs are all playing a post-game interview with some NBA players after a playoff game.

Kevin Durant and Steph Curry

Do some quick math and you’ll realize that most guys will never win an NBA title. Most pro athletes will never win the championship trophy.

But night after night, they go out there and try to put a lifetime of practice into action. Every game they get the ball and trust their instincts and coaching and teammates and make a move.

Pass.

Dribble.

Shoot.

It doesn’t matter if they made the winning shot or made a critical turnover that lost the game.

Every night, win or lose, they sit down with the press and analyze what happened. They gather with the team and watch the footage. They talk with their coach about how to learn from what happened.

They’re learning to improve.

Sitting in front of a microphone, talking to a bunch of journalists who will criticize their performance, these athletes shipped their best work tonight. Or at least trust that they tried with everything they had.

They don’t have the luxury of iterating. So instead, they have to just put their best into each game. No apologies. No fear. 

Just do it.

Most of us who are not professional athletes could learn from that. Ship our best work on game day, and use practice and all other times to strengthen our weakness and learn from our mistakes.

If you’re heading to work today, be an athlete about it.

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