How to Let the Score Take Care of Itself

When I was a kid I loved my hometown hero and wide receiver, Steve Largent, of the Seattle Seahawks. However, I really remember being thrilled to see San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana throw a pass to receiver Jerry Rice. Of course, behind Montana and Rice was a legendary coach, Bill Walsh, and a process for prioritizing.

Walsh writes in his book, The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership,

“I had no grandiose plan or timetable for winning a championship, but rather a comprehensive standard and plan for installing a level of proficiency — competency — at which our production level would become higher in all areas, both on and off the field, than that of our opponents. Beyond that, I had faith that the score would take care of itself.”

This is the fourth and last post in a four-part series on the components of the pathway to your best self. These posts are about personality, purpose and process. If you’ve just arrived start here. Today’s post is focused on process.

Joy in the Process

Jackie Joyner-Kersee (winner of 6 Olympic medals) once said,

“For me the joy of athletics has never resided in winning… I derive as much happiness from the process as from the results. I don’t mind losing as long as I see improvement or I feel I’ve done as well as I possible could. If I lose, I just go back to the track and work some more.”

What Walsh and Joyner-Kersee are speaking of is the value of having a commitment to habits. We might also think of this as discipline, although so many people have negative connotations of this word. I like to use the word habits or routines, because they make them seem more manageable. The word “routine” also acknowledge that much of life is about what we do habitually. If you want to live your best life you need to commit to a process in your life. That process creates a culture of achieving the vision you have for your life and your purpose. Here are three main things to consider in thinking about your habits/processes:

Reviewing and Prioritizing Your Weekly Goals 

If you’ve verbalized (and preferably written down) your vision of your best life, the next step is to actually remind yourself regularly. Next, set measurable goals to actualize that vision. I’ve learned from so many how to do this.  Currently I’m studying the recommendations of Michael Hyatt and using his product called the Full Focus Planner. Before that I implemented David Allen’s Getting Things Done and before that I loved the guys at Asian Efficiency. Of course what cemented it all and was probably the most formative for me was the Franklin Covey system and the What Matters Most teaching of Stephen Covey. Covey’s concept “begin with the end in mind” was basic but enlightening to me in my early life as a pastor. All of these teachers have value and you should check them all out.

Building Habits

A positive and winning team or organization contains a culture that attends to what’s most important clearly and consistently. Winning teams have winning habits. I love quarterback Russel Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks and his motto: “the separation is in the preparation.” In other words, our work ethic and our habits really differentiate us from others.

A lot of attention has been on habits in the last decade. I first read Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit and got tuned into the research.  Then I read S.J Scott’s Habit Stacking and started focusing on my morning routine in particular.

Scott says,

“The key to success here is to start with small expectations, build the muscle memory of completing this routine, and then add more tasks once you’re consistent.”

This is right on point. If you want to make progress on goals and focus on big dreams you have to start somewhere. Focusing on habits allows us to have a process that leads to the outcomes we desire, and prevents us from getting so overwhelmed by the big goal or dream. It gives us a place to start.

Start Small to Generate Small Wins

Have a you ever wanted to start a workout and been daunted by how big it felt from going from NO exercise to a 20 minute routine? I can relate. Once I started with 5 pushups and 5 sit ups. The last time I did this I began to stretch myself and went from 5 to 10 then to 25, and so on. How hard is it to do 5 pushups and 5 sit-ups? Well, maybe it’s challenging right now. Start with 1. Can you do just 1? You can always grow from there. When you start small you experience success and then gain momentum. It’s like beginning to push a big flywheel, but once it gets going it’s hard to stop!  

Years ago I brought back my trumpet playing by practicing just 10 minutes per day. I then worked up to more time as my lips could endure. By 4 months time I could play the demanding trumpet part in the entire musical Fiddler on the Roof! I had so much confidence that next I tackled weight loss and diet and lost 20 pounds. My sense of optimism about what I could accomplish began to build by just 10 minutes of trumpet playing every day. Of course, it helped that I started with something I ultimately loved doing.

If you want to be on the pathway toward your best self, you’ll want to commit to the habits and processes that get you there. There’s so much more to talk about in this area and I look forward to sharing more thoughts and having more dialogue as we journey together.  

Question:  Do you have a daily or weekly process (or habit, routine, etc.) that helps you achieve your vision for your life?

As always, share a comment or thought on what is working or a question. If you want to talk more personally about how I can help you on the path to your best self send me a note at jeff@jeffgephart.com!

With joy in the journey,

Jeff