“Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it“– George Halas
Halas is a Hall of Fame NFL coach. Was the owner of the Chicago Bears and helped to establish the league.
His comment is simple but not easy.
To make a choice to do your best through most of your endeavors is rare.
Most people find it easier to “coast.” They show up and do just enough to avoid criticism or correction. I call it “as much as necessary and as little as possible.”
But, through experience, I’ve learned coasting is a recipe for regret and underachievement.
Coasting is cumulative. It causes a performance drift that allows the competition to outrun you. The difference between one musters a top effort each day and the one who doesn’t…soon shows up.
A “coaster” misses the promotion. He finds himself unprepared when important tasks are called for. A “coaster” asks himself; “what if” as time goes by, regret becomes a theme.
The right habit is to choose effort. As you begin a day, an activity, a journey – throw the switch in your head that says, I will try hard. I will concentrate. I will stretch. My purpose is to get better.
Regret is a hard thing to live with. To think, I “would have, should have, could have” is an impotent feeling that weighs heavy as life passes.
If you’re coasting, change your course. You won’t regret it.
