It’s A Team Thing

“The people we surround ourselves with either raise or lower our standards. They either help us become the best version of ourselves or encourage us to become lesser versions of ourselves. We become like our friends. No man becomes great on his own. No woman becomes great on her own. The people around them help to make them great.
We all need people in our lives who raise our standards, remind us of our essential purpose, and challenge us to become the best version of ourselves.”
I saw this quote the other day and it truly fits with most athletes. It is defiantly true in for college rodeo students, I have watched it firsthand. I have watched how contagious students with great positive attitude and a tremendous work ethic can elevate those around them. Great attitudes and work can be contagious, it can lead everyone involved to become part of something greater than themselves.
It is a team thing.
Who is on your team? Who have you surrounded yourself with? Are your friends and teammates making you better? Are you making them better?
Are the people around you successful? If you want to improve quickly look for successful people in your chosen area and then join them. Watch them and learn from them. How do they practice? How do they handle business at the rodeos?  By surrounding yourself with successful people you will find out the small things they do differently than others and how the small details can lead to bigger and better results for you in the future. Find successful people and learn from them.
Are you surrounded by people with a positive attitude? A positive attitude is truly one of the most contagious things around. Some of the best student athletes I have ever coached had marginal talent and a phenomenal positive attitudes. It affects everyone around them teammates, competitors and even coaches. These people are easy to spot, and every successful team has a few around. If you can’t find someone with a great positive attitude, be that person with the positive attitude.
Every successful team also has the hard workers. The hard workers, the ones who show up early, stay late and do more than is asked of them. I think it is funny how many people who arrive late, leave early and get by, refer to the hard workers as “Lucky” when they get beat by them. Don’t let someone beat you because they simply outworked you. Find the hardest working teammates and join them.
For your team to truly be effective you need the realist. The coach or mentor. It is critical that you have this person in your group, someone who will tell you what you need to hear when you don’t want to hear it. Someone who will support you on your efforts to accomplish your goals.  This is the person who challenges you, who forces you to be better, and will hold you to a higher standard.
Being successful is a team thing. Choose a good team and be a good teammate you will be impressed with the results.