Every sporting arena has a tunnel. In order to enter The Arena, every athlete must go through it. Not only is it required for entry, it’s also where the athlete returns from the battle. The same goes for each day in life and leadership.
The Tunnel
My son, Grant, competed in the Georgia High School Association’s State Wrestling Championships at the Arena at Southlake this weekend. I serve as an assistant coach for his team. As a coach, I spent two full days in the tunnel of that arena.
There were more than 800 young men and women competing in the tournament. To create a quality spectator experience, the organizers held the coaches and wrestlers in the tunnel until their match was up.
Preparing for the Arena
There were a lot of coaches and wrestlers squeezed into a small area. There was a TV that served as the “bout board,” basically a scrolling list of who was coming up next.
In the tunnel, the air is filled with angst. It presents a level of tension that can be cut with a knife, while each competitor anxiously awaits their number to be called.
In this space, wrestlers experience doubt. Confidence levels can sink. Some are still Stuck on a previous loss. Many worry about the list of things that could possibly go wrong once the match starts.
The best wrestlers are confident, prepared, and laser focused. They aren’t distracted by what could be, only what will be.
Every day of our life and leadership journeys, we begin in the tunnel. The angst of the day hits us as soon as our feet hit the floor. In the shower, we walk through tough conversations in our heads with people who aren’t even present. We replay the struggles of yesterday, stuck in past failures. Worry begins to enter our minds about things that may or may not ever happen.
Great leaders are confident, prepared, and laser focused in the tunnel. They excel at focusing on what they can control, not the distractions of the day.
The Battle
Once the match prior ends, the wrestler takes their first step out of the tunnel into the arena. They check in at the scorer’s table, put on their ankle bands (different colored bands for scoring purposes), and toe the line, then the whistle blows. Things get real…really quickly.
For the wrestler who left the tunnel with doubt, who was unprepared, and lacked focus…things move super-fast. The battle is more than they can handle, they quickly become overwhelmed, and succumb to defeat. Most quit mentally before they ever do physically.
For the wrestler who left the tunnel confident, prepared, and focused; everything slows down when the match speeds up. They are resilient, able to quickly bounce back from failure. They have the courage to lay it all on the line, even in the face of possible defeat.
The arena of leadership is not for the faint of heart. Circumstances can imprint doubt and discouragement on our hearts. Distraction pulls us away from what requires our focus.
Great leaders are strong in the face of daily battles. They are prepared for the moment. When the whistle of life and leadership blows, they are ready. Calmness reigns supreme, preparedness slows their world’s down. The leader is ready for battle.
Exiting the Arena
There are two wrestlers that exit the arena at the same time, with completely different emotions. One is experiencing the emotion of defeat, the other is feeling the elation of victory, there really isn’t much of an in between.
One of our seniors won his final match to take third place in the tournament. His father, posted a picture of his son walking towards the tunnel. His post said, “The warrior exits the arena.” I could not think of better imagery to define that moment.
In his Man in the Arena Speech, President Teddy Roosevelt said:
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly;
who errs, who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;
but who does actually strive to do the deeds;
who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.
Great leaders always exit the arena. Whether it is in victory or defeat, they had the courage to step into it in the first place. They will always return to the tunnel regardless.
Conclusion
In a double elimination wrestling tournament, failure eventually becomes fatal. The second time a wrestler walks back to the tunnel in defeat, it’s the end of the road for them.
Thankfully, life and leadership doesn’t work that way for us. Failure is not final in our worlds, so long as we fail forward. So long as we continue to rise to our feet in the tunnel, enter the arena, take on the battles of the day, and return to the tunnel to fight another day, victory remains within our grasp.
I had the rare opportunity as a coach to watch my own son enter that arena this weekend. I learned these lessons I’ve shared by watching him. He was confident, prepared, and focused. He experienced the highs of winning three matches to get to the State finals and the lows of defeat in the final championship match.
In the end, I am most proud that he entered the arena in the first place. As a coach, parent, and leader, there is a lot to learn from that. I have the greatest admiration for those Gritty People who continue to put one foot in front of the other in the face of life’s greatest defeats, yet they enter the arena every day, ready for battle.
However the battle goes, we are always better for it when we return to the tunnel. Everything begins and ends in it.
