Yesterday, I drove 2 hours to watch 22 overpaid athletically delicious men chase a ball for 90 minutes.
I'm not an avid football fan by any stretch of the imagination, but as my dad and step-brother were both unable to make it, my husband and I joined my mum to watch Manchester UTD's first game of the season.
Now I don't know much about the finer elements of the game, despite the fact it was on in the house every weekend growing up (maybe why I spent so much time with my nose in a book!) but even to my uneducated eye, the boys in red looked, well… timid.
During the warm-up, I had admired their confidence on the ball but the moment the shrill sound of the whistle signalled kick-off - it was a different story.
(My mum described them as toothless and lacking creativity!)
Where in training they had executed crosses, runs and corner kicks perfectly, the pressure of the game transformed their precision into panic.
Instead of following their instinct, they appeared to second guess every pass of the ball or cross into the box and that split second of doubt was the difference between winning and losing.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo, renowned footballing superstar with a net worth of around one BILLION dollars had very little impact on the game despite his reputation.
And you know what, I see this same thing play out time and time again in life, in business, when we’re thinking about painting that kitchen a different colour etc.
We might come up with the perfect plan but the minute it comes to execution, we falter.
We waste so much energy trying to logic things out instead of trusting our gut and giving something a go.
And these moments of doubt slow us down while the world transforms around us.
Because just like a football match, life is not a static controlled environment.
It's dynamic. It's competitive. There are people off the pitch often passing commentary on what's happening.
And in my own experience, both fortune & a fun-filled life do not favour the timid.
They favour the courageous.
The ones who are willing to take a punt on something.
To ping the ball into the box and TRUST their teammates (a.k.a The Universe) to respond creatively.
It favours those who don't wait for things to be perfect but instead respond to the opportunities that surround them.
The ones who are present, with their head in the game.
Who aren't thinking about the pass they're going to make in 10 minutes or the pass they just made a second ago.
Sure, they have a clear vision of what success looks like, but how they get there?
Well, that can only be created in the MOMENT, not in the mind.
A caveat on “right timing”.
As a huge advocate of Messy Action, I often leave out the bit where I remind you that everything has it’s own right timing. And despite all our best efforts, sometimes… things just don’t wanna happen.
My mum calls these moments “pushing custard uphill.”
So while yes, plough ahead! Take messy action! But don’t forget to honour the moment.
Maybe don’t repaint the kitchen the morning that you’re due to host a dinner party.
Maybe don’t start that creative project at 11pm at night when your alarm is set for 5:30am to catch a flight.
Maybe don’t take a shot at goal when every defender on the other team is between you and the box.
Or ya know, do it anyway and see what happens? There’s often little to lose by taking action beyond a bruised ego & there’s always lessons to gain when things don’t work out.
