People tell me it rains a lot in the Pacific Northwest. I tell them there are a lot of sunny days, the air is fresh, and the scenery is second to none. This past April was one of the warmest and driest Aprils in history, and yet some people complained about the four days straight of rain we had in May. Is the cup half empty or half full (I know, an engineer would say the cup was bigger than it needed to be!)?
When driving in the rain, are there certain parts of the track that are more slippery than others? Sure. Which parts do you focus on the most? Where there is a lack of grip, or where there is grip? Do you focus on the lack of grip, or the grip you have?
Could it be that by focusing on where there isn’t grip, that’s where you go? And then your confidence level drops, while the amount of fear you’re experiencing goes up? Is that helping you relax, or is it making you more tense, resulting in less ability to sense the grip since your body is tense?
What if you focused on where there is grip, what would that do for you? Think about that for a moment.
Okay, let me tell you what I think you should do: Focus on the grip you have, not the grip you don’t have.
It seems to be part of human nature, or how our culture trains us to think: We focus more on what we don’t have, rather than on what we have; we focus on the negative, rather than the positive.
When I ask drivers to tell me what they do well, they struggle to answer me. But they have no problem whatsoever telling me what they need to do better.
Here’s my challenge to you:
Let me leave you with some of what tennis legend Roger Federer said during a commencement speech:
Leave behind where the track is lacking grip, or what you need to improve. Focus on — and use — the grip (and your strengths).
