Just Do It…A Little
by Brian Diaz
Many of us recently participated in a FitBit Challenge that was the brain-trust of our beloved Coach Tami. What spawned was a group of about 15 coaches working out like they had decided to run a marathon. Individuals were getting 35,000 steps daily. That is about 15-17 miles…a day!!! It was inspiring and intimidating at the same time.
After the first week, about half the participants dropped out of the challenge. Then a few more dropped out after week two. After three weeks, the challenge was dead.
While shout outs are definitely in order to the over-achievers of the world, would it have been better to get 15,000 daily and maintain the pace for a month or two? Tami’s challenge was designed to help us coaches put a little focus back on our own well-being. Especially in season, we get so wrapped up in the next game, next week’s travel, player meetings, practice sessions, and recruiting calls…that we neglect our body and mind.
We hide behind so many phrases; hard-working, relentless, committed, driven, passionate…but the real word is UNBALANCED!
So back to the ‘steps’…would it be better to do less steps but sustain it over a long period of time; thus building momentum for a healthier lifestyle? The answer is Yes!
Let’s look at this from a player perspective. If you have a player who struggles with free throws, would you rather that player:
- take 100 free throws after practice for 2 days
or
- take 15 free throws after practice for 2 months
Which option is really going to build a better free-throw shooter? Which option is going to create change?
How many times has an athlete come in and asked what they need to do get more playing time? You give the athlete a few areas to work on. Then the athlete stays after practice for 30 minutes the next couple of days to work on the areas you suggested. But after a few days, the player stops doing the extra training. As coaches, we chuckle at the feeble attempt to improve by the athlete. No improvement is made in two days.
Now, what about the athlete who meets with you after the season and asks the same question? But this athlete spends 10 extra minutes a day for the entire off-season working on the areas you suggested. That is the athlete you applaud and hug! You get so excited because this player truly committed to get better. They didn’t just over-train for two days; they did a little bit over a lot of time.
In the Mental Game Coaching world, the phrase is ‘do a little a lot’. You see, most of us in the FitBit Challenge did ‘a lot a little’. We did A LOT of steps for a little bit of time. Most of us probably didn’t create real change in our lifestyle. We went back to committing zero time to our physical and mental well-being. But now we can do ‘a little a lot’. We can do 30 minutes of cardio 5 times a week. We are not running a marathon, just trying to take care of our body and relieve stress. Choose to read for 10 minutes each night; you don’t have to read the entire book in one sitting. Commit to 30 minutes with your kids and spouse each day; they don’t need hours of your time every day. Heck, my wife would hate hours of having to talk to me.
There are endless examples to insert here, but you figure out which ones make the biggest impact for you. Just don’t get caught in the trap of ‘doing a lot a little’…rather ‘do a little a lot’. It just makes better sense.