It has been a while since I have shared a few thoughts- sorry about that. And in honor of today's topic, I will just keep going without anything more about that.
I can't promise that this will be the last Tony Dungy post, but it might be. There is at least one more life lesson I picked up from coach Dungy in his book, Quiet Strength. He shares that he taught his players this lesson- which eventually became a mantra for his teams: "Whatever it takes. NO excuses. NO explanations." I believe he even created a poster and hung it above the entrance to the Colts' locker room at the RCA dome. In his book, Tony describes how we often deal with failure by offering excuses or explanations.
I have done it. You have done it. "Well, I just so tired. It was a long week. I just can't get it right." Funny how our excuses often start with, "Well . . ." or "I just . . ." It is almost like we are grasping for something rational to make ourselves and others feel better about our failure.
Now the explanation option is more difficult. Explanations are thought out, reasonable responses to failure. And when they make sense, we often feel justified. But what if we stopped offering explanations and just owned up to our failures? We might spend a lot more time looking toward the future.
I think people might like us more, too.
So here we go: Whatever it takes! No excuses! No explanations!
