Standards Don’t Change

The standard in this room doesn’t change based on the record.

That’s easy to say. It’s harder to live. When you’re winning, the temptation is to relax the standard a little — not all the way, just slightly. Practice a little looser. Attention to detail a little less sharp. The assumption that the wins will keep coming because we’re just better than the competition right now.

That assumption has ended more seasons than any opponent ever has.

Read this passage slowly.

Let that sit for a second before you move.

Paul’s image is a race. And the instruction is not “run as fast as you can sometimes.” It’s run in such a way as to get the prize. Consistently. With full attention to form and effort and strategy all the way through.

The runner who has a great first mile and then coasts doesn’t win the race. The team that has a great first half of the season and then coasts doesn’t win the championship.

Consistency is not exciting. It doesn’t make for great highlight clips. But it’s the single most predictive variable in who wins over a full season. The teams that hold their standard on the practice field during a winning streak are the teams that are still playing in the final week.

What does holding the standard look like right now? It looks like practicing with the same intensity you had when the record was against you. It looks like paying attention to the details that are easy to skip when you’re winning. It looks like refusing to give yourself a pass because things are going well.

The record is 5-1. The standard is the same as when it was 0-1.

Self-assessment with specificity. Don’t let people give tens. Push for honest numbers.