If he caught a rabbit he wouldn’t know what to do with it.
In 2017, Eleven Madison Park was named number one on the coveted list of the world’s 50 best restaurants. However, after reaching the top, Owner/Chef, Daniel Humm, fell into a depression. “When we became number one, it wasn’t as great as one would imagine. It actually came with a lot of emptiness. I think that’s because we were chasing that goal for so long; I was looking for more meaning, a higher purpose,” said Humm. Author and well respected podcast host, Rich Roll, added, “when you have been vying to reach number one for over a decade, you may find it lacking once you get there. That’s because the value is in the endeavor, in the getting there, the hardships and the struggle. When you’ve arrived, the journey is over.”
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre expressed the same sentiment after winning the Super Bowl. “Here I am up on the podium after the biggest win of my career and thinking, ‘this is it?’ Instead of feeling happy or proud, I was sad that it was over. I learned it’s not about the trophy, it’s about the journey. What you remember most are the games that got you there, the practices and the bus rides; and all of a sudden that was over. After the game while the coach was giving his talk, I slipped off to the shower. I just sort of felt numb.”
There is no doubt that elite performers like Humm, Roll and Favre were/are successful, in part due to their focus on achieving tangible goals. But what good is reaching the top of the mountain if you are disappointed once you get there? Putting one’s identity into what you do or the outcome of an event causes anxiety and is setting you up for disappointment, as you are guaranteed to fail at some point and your career will ultimately come to an end. Instead of focusing on the end result, it is wise to direct your focus toward the pursuit of mastery. “Mastery is not really a goal or a destination, but rather a process” (Leonard, 2010); the process of getting better each day.
In the field of sport and performance, the research is clear. Athletes who strive for mastery get better faster, tend to work harder and stick to tasks longer, opposed to those who measure success via the scoreboard. More importantly, mastery minded athletes create key framework that can help them become successful in whatever they choose to do in life beyond the playing field (Thompson, 2003). Take the late Kobe Bryant for example. With all of his success on the court, it would have been easy to let basketball define him. After all, he was a multiple time gold medalist, five time NBA champion, 18 time all-star game player, and led the NBA in scoring twice. However even after his playing career ended, Kobe continued to chase greatness. In 2018, he became the first African-American athlete to win an Academy Award for writing an animated short film. And even at the time of his death two years later, he was working on publishing his first book for children.
Due to his intensity on the court and high standards he placed on himself and his teammates, Kobe earned the nickname and created the ultra-ego of “The Black Mamba” and coined the term “The Mamba Mentality.” Many falsely believe this phrase had something to do with success in basketball. However according to Kobe, it means “to be able to constantly try to be the best version of yourself. That is what the mentality is. It’s a constant quest to try to be better today than you were yesterday.”
You can either set out to climb a mountain (outcome related goal) or aim to climb the tallest mountain on Earth, fully knowing you will never reach the top (pursuit of mastery). The choice is up to you, but take it from those who have been or are currently on the climb- the view from “Mastery Mountain” keeps getting better each day.
Coach Nelson holds a doctorate in sport and performance psychology and currently serves as a high school football coach, trainer for the positive coaching alliance (PCA) and adjunct faculty member at Grand Canyon University. He has worked for multiple professional sport franchises, a Fortune 100 Company, a division 1 athletic departments and has won numerous awards for his LEADership abilities.
His mission is to positively influence the world through Love, Effort, Attitude and Discipline (#LEAD). To learn more about the LEAD philosophy follow him on Twitter Levi Nelson or reach out via email at rln10@zips.uakron.edu He’d love to learn about or help you in your journey!
PCA: https://www.positivecoach.org/team/nelson-levi/
References
Leonard, George (2010). Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment. Plume.
Thompson, J. (2003). The double-goal coach: Positive coaching tools for honoring the game and developing winners in sports and life. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers ISBN-13: 978–0060505318
Weinberg, R. S. & Gould, D. (2015). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (6th Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
