Maximum Effort = Zero Regret

What if I had tried harder? What if I had prepared a little more? What if I had practiced a few more times? What if I had given it everything I had?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve had a moment like this in your life. That specific memory of knowing you could have achieved something wonderful, but fell short. A moment where you knew it was on you; you could have done it if only you had done something more.

For me, that moment came when I was about twelve years old. I was on a swim team, and I competed in a medley relay race. There were four competitors per team, six teams in six swim lanes. I swam last. By the time it was my turn to dive in, we were in sixth place: dead last. I dove in and swam my laps, but before I had entered the water, I had already lost the race. I had convinced myself that there was no hope of winning. So, I swam my laps. I gave it an effort, but it wasn’t everything I had. Why should I go all out in a situation where there was no hope of winning?

This became the exact moment in my life when I came to understand the expression, “leave it all on the field.” We came in 2nd place - only a few feet behind 1st place. It’s evident to me now that the other teams had put their fastest swimmers first. While my teammates celebrated our victory, I was internally devastated. While they cheered my effort, I knew I had let them down. I had let myself down. In their eyes, we’d won 2nd place. In my eyes, I’d lost 1st place for my team and diminished the effort they had made before me. I felt guilt, shame, and regret. I wanted to do it over again. I have wanted to swim that race over again my whole life. It was a truly horrible feeling, and it changed me. In that isolated moment, I knew it was my fault. I had no one and nothing else to blame. I never wanted to feel that way again.

When there is something in my life that I want to achieve, I use the memory of that race, and the guilt, shame, and regret I felt as the catalyst to create power, energy, and resolve. I tell myself that I won’t fail due to a lack of preparation, a lack of commitment, or a lack of effort. The memory of those feelings gives me the discipline I need to move forward with maximum effort. I will give it everything I have, and if I fail, I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there was nothing more I could have done; nothing more I could have given.

How often are we the reason we fail? How often does this type of scenario play out in school, sports, work, our health and personal development, or our personal relationships? What’s your narrative? Are you telling yourself, like I did, that there is no hope of winning? Are you using that as your excuse to break a commitment you made to yourself or someone else? When we are one month into a new year, how many resolutions will fall by the wayside due to our own lack of discipline?

If you have a memory like this, use it. Channel that energy and use it as your motivation to pour your heart and soul into the things that matter most to you. Don’t just “swim your laps,” as I did. There are enough challenges, obstacles, and barriers to your success and achievement without you creating more of your own. I implore you to give it everything you have and “leave it all on the field.”

I look forward to hearing about your triumph!

- Hans