Don’t be undefeated
I am an undefeated boxer. Yes, in the boxing ring, I have never lost a match, not even a single time. Impressive, right?
Not really. I’ve only fought one match.
In my senior year, I tore my ACL playing football (on the opening kickoff of the year, no less) and lost my senior season. So, when someone was passing out flyers for the K.O. Drugs Boxing Tournament outside the high school, I was all over it, despite the explicit lack of permission from my parents. They were divorced, though, and pretty ineffective at monitoring my whereabouts (there were no smart phones with tracking back then!). So, I signed up for a boxing club, trained for several months, and fought in the tournament. I did end up inviting my parents who, while upset with me, still had a sort of curiosity about whether I’d get beat up. Maybe, after disobeying them, they were looking forward to it!
Either way, I fought in that match. It was brutal, somewhat uncoordinated, and dizzying. I took a real shot to my head that might have jarred loose my ability to do math. Even so, I managed to knock down my opponent a couple of times and ended up winning by points. It was cool, invigorating, and I got the questionable feedback that I looked like a real fighter. The feedback wasn’t even from my mom!
The next match fell on the same night as prom, so I ended up opting to create high school memories. Then, despite phone calls asking me to come back to the boxing gym and people reaching out to keep me in the sport, I never fought again.
That’s probably a good thing. I retired undefeated, and I make my living with my brain, not my body. But I often wonder—what would have happened?
Whenever you are undefeated at anything, there is something to learn. This is true of sports, but also true of your work life. When every project is a success, when you are constantly an all-star, there is a risk of becoming a specialist, and an even greater risk of become arrogant or out-of-touch. Recall Rocky III—he was undefeated after winning the heavy weight belt, but that was largely driven by his mentor handpicking easy fights that did not truly challenge him. So, he become arrogant and grew soft over time.
If you are not failing, you are probably selling yourself short, or going after goals that are too relatively achievable, if impressive compared to others. Give yourself a chance to be defeated by taking something on that is too big. What you learn from failure can be much greater than what you learn from constantly winning. Where can you stretch yourself, both emotionally and cognitively? Where can you expand your skillset and go beyond what you already know? Where can you push the boundaries in our own role, in your organization, in your life?
Don’t be like me—don’t be undefeated and left always wondering.
All the best for a Healthy and Prosperous 2021!