The NFL Seattle Seahawks’ offensive line coach Scott Huff is known for his philosophy. “Confidence comes from preparation.” You might think you good enough to take on any situation at a moment’s notice, but how confident of success are you without taking the time to prepare for it. You want others on your team…or in your family or at work…to feel you are ready to take on that assignment, plan that vacation, lead that team, or paint that living room. Regardless the task, regardless what’s at stake, preparation is the first step to success.
This week, Diem is painting that living room. Actually, the window and door trim in the living room are on the current list. She is confident she can complete the task successfully because she took the time to prepare. She inspected the condition of all the trim, made note of necessary repairs, checked the paint supply for color, that enough is on hand and the condition of her brushes, then taped the spaces adjoining the trim. Not until all that is checked off the list is the paint can opened and the painting begins.
We’ve all seen his image of an iceberg with the small portion above the water’s surface labelled “what people see,” and most of the iceberg under water labelled “what people don’t see.” What is listed under “what people don’t see” are time management, mindset, good habits, daily goals. Do you what isn’t listed under “what people don’t see?” Preparation. You could replace everything under the water’s surface with “preparation” but that would make for a dull post. We can add something to go with preparation if you want to make the iceberg analogy really work. Practice. Practice is the physical exercise one goes through to succeed. Preparation is the mental planning necessary to build confidence and achieve success.
In an earlier post, Practice, Practice, Practice, we talked about musicians, ball players, and airline pilots and how they practice alone so they can perform their tasks flawlessly when the concert hall is packed, the plane is full, and the stands are standing room only. In another previous post, Past Performance versus Present Desire, we said, “Thousands of little things every day are accomplished with little or no thought on your part because past successes have ingrained the manner and means to successfully accomplish them.” That’s the power of practice. Except just rote practice won’t lead to flawless execution. It will be masterful. Masterful is good. Can it be better? Yes, yes it can.
How can we turn practice into confidently successful accomplishments? When you know you can do something because you have mastered the skill through practice and settled your mental management through preparation, you can confidently anticipate success. We mentioned that also. Confidence is found in your desire to do something to your best while doing it.
But wait. Are you sure you are prepared? Are you confident that you are ready to move from thought to action? How can you tell? An old listening trick, active listening, only now you are going to listen to yourself. Active listening is a process of going beyond just hearing the words; it is seeking to understand the meaning and intent behind the words. You must do that when you are practicing and when you are preparing. Be present with yourself. Understand where you are in your abilities. Strive to understand the reason for the preparation steps. Ask questions of yourself. Finally, when you think you have “it,” review your thoughts to make certain you come up with the same process, the same plan.
Be confidents in yourself to take on that assignment, plan that vacation, lead that team, or even paint that living room. Preparation is the first step to success. Are you ready?
I liked this even better the second time!