Why You Should Cancel Your Touchdown Dance Today
Anyone who knows me knows I happen to be one of the biggest trash/shit talkers in the history of mankind. I try to keep it playful, and never about anything serious, but if it’s something incredibly trivial and hilarious, I will definitely open my mouth up about it. Examples of this: my racquetball record against my roommate (70 Wins, 0 Losses), Michigan State Football (The years of Cousins and Cook), Fantasy Football (Weeks 1–4 this year), and my ping pong ability.
“When Your Work Speaks For Itself, Don’t Interrupt.” — Henry J. Kaiser
And while I try not to bash anyone for serious things, like education, careers, or life in general, I often find myself guilty of over-celebrating things for myself that, trivial or not, are often unfinished or better left unmentioned. The complacence that comes with passing a performance goal, fitness goal, or life goal, is often followed by an immediate down period. A big first set in the gym for me is often followed by a sad, somewhat embarrassing set where I barely move the weights. And if I win the first 2 matches of ping pong, it’s a sure thing I’ll get overconfident and lose the next 3.
And while those two things suck, perhaps the most poignant of my losses came from my last trip to Las Vegas, where on the first night I won $700 in blackjack, only to lose $800 the second night. But why is that? Why lose focus on what I’m doing and celebrate when the wins are small? It’s almost as if verbalizing the win makes it bigger than it actually is. However, it never works, and it really only makes people think you’re a douche. And when you do verbalize the win, no one wants to help you get back up there and stay up there. When you’re doing well and running your mouth about it, most people will only want to see you get taken down a notch.
Here’s another important quote:
“Cologne should be discovered, not announced.” — Unknown.
Have you ever heard something very positive or interesting about someone before getting the chance to meet him/her on your own? For example, maybe you’ve heard of someone being ranked 1st in your graduating class, got to talk to them, and then they didn’t mention their grades at all? Wasn’t it refreshing? Didn’t their humility make them so much more grounded and interesting to talk to?
It’s almost like when a person doesn’t even talk about what they’re known for, there has to be something more important to them, and you want to discover it. You don’t learn anything from someone when they boast about what you already know about them. There’s nothing to be gained there.
Ultimately, the benefits of pounding your chest from a big win pale in comparison to keeping your head down and focusing on continued success. This lesson isn’t just for me, either. Of the last 18 years, only 61% of Superbowl winners made the playoffs the following year, let alone were even competitive enough to make it to the late rounds. This is even more staggering considering that there has been one team that’s won 5 of those Superbowls.
Keep your head down when you win and up when you lose, keep grinding, and most importantly, cancel your touchdown dance. Because just as easily as you got into the endzone, you can be pushed out.
