Did you watch the Winter Olympics? I watched the snowboarding competition for the first time this year and got to see Shawn White get his second consecutive gold on the half-pipe.
And that’s why I want to talk to you today about goal-setting. And no, I didn’t hit my head snowboarding or anything (not recently anyway…)
See, unlike some of the other sports, in snowboarding the half-pipe, the longer your routine goes, the *slower* you go. That loss of speed means fewer tricks, and a lower score.
That’s why most competitors try to pull off their best moves at the beginning, before that momentum is spent.
This is a lot like the diminishing returns we football officials see in our goals over time. We can get a big spike of activity at first..
Then it’s a good response… then so-so… then it dwindles away to the point that your formerly “hot” new goals are just lukewarm with the rest of your long-term, but disengaged goals.
We can’t do any more “tricks” because we’re just out of juice.
And you know what? That’s perfectly natural. That diminishing return happens in everyone’s career, business or hobby, and that’s why you can’t just set your goals once and coast along for life.
We go through the process again and again, with a fresh burst of speed, and a new chance to make a great showing for that DI supervisor, only to have things eventually die down again…
And much like some of those Olympians, it can get to you. Even though these athletes get multiple runs and get to keep their highest score, many of them fell flat on their later tries.
Some folks let the friction and gravity from each run grind them down psychologically, too. But not everyone.
Mr. White, aka “The Flying Tomato” managed to get a higher score with EACH RUN. And this was my favorite moment – he ALREADY won the gold, and got the opportunity to do a “victory lap” and greet his roaring crowd of fans at the foot of the slope.
He actually sheepishly suggests he should just coast down the middle without doing any tricks.
Too fast to bleep on live TV, Shawn’s coach colorfully “suggests” that Mr. White should do his super secret trick… the one he never even needed to use in the competition, just for fun, just for the fans.
So he goes down the pipe, doing the usual tricks, and actually lands the “Whitesnake” – a trick he invented – on the LAST sweep up the pipe before the finish line.
I don’t even know how many spins and flips it is. Like 70 or something. But it sure was AMAZING to watch. 
And the judges actually gave him A BETTER SCORE than the one he won the gold with. He had already won, and he busted out an even better performance, just for the JOY of it.
My takeaway is that just because there might be less chance for a big return, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to do our best for our fellow officials, coaches and players each and every time we step on the field.
And it’s not just champion athletes that can elevate their game this way – world class ARTISTS of all kinds strive to do this in every possible form of human expression and achievement.
Why should we, as football officials, be any different?
Whether we’re in off-season preparation mode, or hitting the gym to get in shape, or in the heat of the season, you have to care enough to try and do better each time. Always try to get the biggest and best response for your efforts.
Because when you always TRY to do better, you DO get better. And that can be the difference between bringing home the gold and eating dirty snow.
GO BIG, or as they say, go home.
Until next time,
Be the Best on the Field
Todd
P.S. Did you have any personal heroes in the 2010 winter games? I can’t be the only one who finds inspiration for both work AND life in this stuff. What moved you? How will you apply it? Tell me in the comments.
