The Two Minute Drill
Marc Lockard mlockard@lockardandwhite.com
Have you ever noticed, while watching professional football,
how exciting the last two minutes of each half are? Two mediocre teams can play an entirely
boring game right up until the officials stop the game at two-minutes before
the game to notify the teams that there is now only two more minutes of playing
time left in the game. All of a sudden,
when the networks come back from commercial, the tempo of the game magically
picks up. Players that looked lethargic
when the network broke for commercial are all of a sudden are making great
plays and putting forth extra effort!
The quarterback makes use of every available second. Multiple plays are called, everyone moves
with new quickness, the clock is worked judiciously. The enthusiasm of the team, the crowd, and
even the television audience is raised to a new high. As a viewer I find myself asking why isn’t
the whole game played this way?
Then you realize that the really good teams do play the
entire game with the same degree of intensity and excitement for the entire
game that the mediocre teams do only in the last two minutes before each half. The teams that play with intensity and excitement
the entire game are the consistent winners.
Well the same is true in your life and your career!
Those individuals who put enthusiasm and excitement into
everything they do somehow always to be the same individuals who are given the
best promotions, who rocket through the corporate ranks or who own and operate
their own successful business. These
same individuals also seem to be the ones who have the best families, and enjoy
all the better things in life, and always seem to have what appears to a lot of
free time. Their success is simply not
an accident! Their success is a direct
result of the effort they put forth.
They operate as if they are always in the last two minutes of the game
where every second counts. They approach
all aspects of their life with enthusiasm and excitement, and work consistently
to seek out additional opportunities and challenges.
So why don’t we all
participate in the two minute drill? We
all have the capability to do so; we just don’t always focus on the tasks at hand. Think about the last two days in the office
before you left on your last vacation.
You probably attacked every opportunity presented to you with
consistent, enthusiastic effort, and you persistently pursued each opportunity
as if every second counted. You knew
that those tasks not completed before you left would be there to stare you in
the face when you returned. Your pace
quickened, you didn’t waste anytime or energy.
You were committed to clearing out the back-log! Chances are you accomplished more in those
last two days before you left than you had in the last few weeks. The reason you were able to accomplish so
much is that you now HAD to complete those tasks
and you knew you simply couldn’t put off any task. You became focused!
So why don’t we approach all our opportunities and
challenges with this same degree of effort and enthusiasm? Honestly the reason
is that for most of us, without an absolute time limit (the last two minutes of
the game), we all tend to misuse our time and resources. After all, if we don’t get that task done
today, we can always complete it tomorrow!
But can we? There always seems to
be some new opportunity or some unexpected diversion! You know you just had to see that new YouTube
video everyone is talking about or check out the latest sports scores, or check
your Facebook or Twitter account or knock off a few “Angry Birds”.
But what if you practiced the two minute drill
everyday? What if you played the game of
life with enthusiasm and excitement?
What if you methodically and persistently attacked each opportunity that
presented itself, when it presented itself?
One way to find out, try it!
My bet is that you will feel better, discover a new level of confidence
in yourself, and begin to feel refreshed and relaxed!
Give it a shot!
