Can You Repeat It?

Maybe you've seen the clip on YouTube, but did you know the story behind it?

In the 1970s, there was a show called "ABC Wide World of Sports" that opened with Jim McKay delivering a monologue over scenes of various sports being played. At one point, the monologue mentioned "the thrill of victory," showing several people winning events, and then "...the agony of defeat..." as it cut to a skier who missed their jump, crashing in a very painful way on the ramp.

That skier's name was Vinko Bogataj, a Slovenian painter and ski jumper who had the misfortune of crashing at an event where the ABC sports team was filming. Now imagine if you were Vinko, and every week for over a decade, your mistake was replayed with dramatic music and the phrase "the agony of defeat" perfectly timed with it. It wouldn't do a lot to boost your self-confidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsvvhqpKRQ0&pp=ygUodGhlIGFnb255IG9mIGRlZmVhdCB3aWRlIHdvcmxkIG9mIHNwb3J0cw%3D%3D

In life, we do things that are successful, and we do things that are not. Sometimes, something can lead to a high victory, while other times, we come crashing to the ground (figuratively, I hope). But what are the repeat moments in your life? Are you consistently making the same mistakes over and again, learning nothing in the process? Or are you repeating the actions that make you successful?

For me, a simple action that leads to a productive morning is getting up and getting completely ready, even if I'm not going anywhere. I get dressed before I head into my home office to start the day, and that makes me feel like I'm ready to get serious about what I'm about to do. When I spent the morning in my pajamas, I found the mindset for success wasn't there for me. Even when I'm on vacation, I get up, make the bed, and get ready for the day.

What are the actions you need to repeat in life that will lead to a successful, productive day for you? What things do you need to avoid?

Think about your greatest success in the past year. What led to that moment? What did you do right? Are you still doing those things today that led to success, or have you possibly even improved upon them?

On the flip side, are you frustrated because things don't seem to work the way you envisioned them? What are you doing that leads to those moments? Are you repeating the wrong things while expecting different results?

Repeat the things that matter! Improve where you can! Never let yourself get stuck in a loop of defeat in life when you have already proven you can be successful at something. Build upon success, and learn from failure.

P.S. Victor's ski crash story had a happy ending. He had no idea his clip was so popular until he was invited to the 20th Anniversary Celebration of "Wide World of Sports." There, he received the loudest standing ovation of any athlete invited, and even Muhammad Ali asked for his autograph!