4.12 Mike Tomlin: Take The Next Step

“The things that made you viable in the past aren’t going to be the things that make you viable moving forward. You better be continually getting better.” - Mike Tomlin

The sports world is full of athletes who were great when they were young who leveled off by the time they got to high school or college.

Think about it - how many great 8 or 9 year-olds or talented 12-13 year-olds have you seen stop progressing?

When I was a kid, my cousin said to me, “You don’t want to look up in high school and everyone says, ‘Remember when he was the best when we were kids? What happened to him?’ You want people to say, ‘He has ALWAYS been one of the best.’”

How do you make this happen? You have to continue to adapt your mindset, your habits, and your training. Talent and a head start gets you noticed early, but by the time you get to high school, everyone will start to catch up because everyone starts working harder and smarter.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin once told his team, “The things that made you viable in the past aren’t going to be the things that make you viable moving forward. You better be continually getting better.”

If you don’t want to get stuck, you can’t train casually; you have to push past your limits, and you have to take your nutrition, rest, and recovery seriously.

You don’t have to plateau, but you can’t just show up and work hard; you have to mentally and physically train for the next level.

Question of the Day: What is something you need to do more, less, or different so that you can get to the next level?