Bill McCartney was a football coach for the Colorado Buffalos from 1982-1994. He had many great moments as a coach, including winning national Coach of the Year awards 3 times.
I want to tell you about one specific story about him in particular though. One year they were about to play a powerhouse Nebraska team that everyone was predicting would destroy his Colorado team.
He knew he had to come up with something extraordinary to get his team to beat the more talented team. He called all of his players in and told them to do one thing. The players were asked to call a loved one or friend and tell them to watch the game on Saturday because they were playing specifically for that person.
Each person called their mom, grandmother, father, etc... and told them the plan. What happened next was something out of a movie. The underdog, but overachieving Colorado team upset the powerful Nebraska team.
After the game, each player signed a football with the score on it and sent it to the person they had dedicated the game to. I love stuff like that!
Cool story, but what does it have to do with you? I want you to try something similar. I want you to pick out a big goal of yours (run your first 5K, lose 50 pounds, get off your medications, etc...), then I want you to tell someone, “I'm doing this for you.”
Maybe it is your spouse or your child you want to do this for. Pick out a person that means the world to you and would really love to see you reach your goal.
One of my clients did this to quit smoking. She told her daughter, “I’m going to quit smoking because I want to watch your grandkids grow up.” She was able to quit smoking.
You will work so much harder when it is not just about you. Working for something bigger than yourself is just the extra push some people need to reach their goals. Plus it adds an extra degree of accountability.
This may sound corny but I am telling you it will work. It makes the other person feel great that you mean that much to them and will keep you motivated to keep going.
