Ready for War?....How Focused Can You Say You Are?

I’ve been paying attention to the 2015 Rugby World Cup and what has shaped up to be a huge final match between the All Blacks of New Zealand and the Wallabies of Australia. Here in the States the World Series of Baseball has begun, the NBA has just kicked off and we are midway through the NFL season but if you are from “Down Under” your full attention will be on this one match that has shaped up over the last few weeks.

Prior to the start of each match the All Blacks perform a ritual unlike any other professional team in the world. The group comes to mid-field, faces their opponent and goes into a series of aggressive chanting, movements, and facial expressions. The ritual is known as the Haka and is a tribal war dance unique the the country of New Zealand.

The Haka is intimidating, impressive and adds to the aura around the All Blacks and their gaudy record in International play. The All Blacks do not have a losing record to any national team in the world and as a matter of fact a large number of countries have never defeated the All Blacks.

What jumps out at me the most when I see this pregame ritual is the passion and intensity that the players bring to this. In most American sports pregame is a very casual time for most players. Watch Odell Beckham Jr. on the New York Giants and you would think he was getting ready for a street ball game. Don’t get me wrong I love Odell but is he getting ready for war as he is showcasing his one handed grabs?

I can’t help but think that this intensity and ability to focus in the moment has more than just a little to do with the ability of the All Blacks to be so dominant. What would a fraction of that focus do for our ability to attain the goals we were chasing? Being a better father, husband, an overall human being, having financial success, success in school, health and fitness related goals would all be right there for the taking. We would dominate our lives! Sounds pretty amazing to me.

So where is your focus right now on the task you have to perform in the next 80 minutes (the time it takes to complete a rugby match)? Is it as serious to you as life or death? Should we perform our own little war dance when we get out of bed in the morning? Maybe. I didn't learn how the game of rugby was played by the All Blacks. What they remind me of, is that everything I ever want is right here - all I have to do is stare it down and remain relentless with my focus.