Buy Into Yourself: Create an Identity You Believe In

TL;DR: Be like the Forty Niners. Don't be like the Dolphins



Was watching some of the games yesterday, and I really like the way UVA has played throughout the season- particularly like what their coach has done with a pretty medicore group of guys (talent-level) wise. 



Anyway, they played pretty poorly last night, and it was interesting because as you watched them play, they would go in spurts every now and then. What was interesting about these spurts, was that the only times they would start to go on a run, was when they started to play more in-line with their "Identity".Identity, in this case, simply meaning that they were going on these spurts when they were playing most true to the team that they had come to believe they were, and the system they had bought-into.  



After the game, some of the announcers were talking about it, and one of the things they mentioned was how UVA's coach had done an incredible job of basically coming up with a system, and simply finding guys who were willing to buy-in to the system. Having played collegiate sports myself, I immediately connected with this concept: The power of buying-In. I'm sure people here have discussed this, but seeing it through the lens of basketball, got me connecting with it more than I did in the past.



So, basically what the coach at UVA has done is take some good-but-not-great talen, came up with a system, and got his guys to believe in that system. What I think is so interesting, and powerful, about this is that I truly believe it doesn't matter which system it is. That's completely irrelevant. For UVA, they happen to play a very slow, deliberate, calculated style of basketball. They have the best defense in college ball, and are going to make stops, control the ball, slow everything down and wear you down over the course of the game.It's worked well for them- they are a #1 seed in the tournament. 



But the system is irrelevant. What I mean, is simply that  there are plenty of teams that don't play this style of ball, that also are extremely good (maybe better). It's not the system, but rather it's the fact that



1. The coach had the ability to sit down and decide on a system he wanted to run- and stick to it. 

2. It's the fact that he got the players to believe that the system would work. 



For me, those two facts combined are an awesome little life lesson. Let's preface this by saying that the system probably matters a little (if you had a system that simply said, we're going to shoot half-court shots the entire game and let our opponents score without playing any defense.... No matter how much you believed in that system, yeah, it probably isn't going to help you much).



But what the announcers were basically saying about UVA- that if they are going to make a deep run int he tourney and reach the final 4 or championship game, that they will have to play closer to their identity-is equally true for pickup .In fact, it's not just UVA... every team, with any sport (at least the teams that win a lot) have some sort of identity. All good teams have such a strong identity that most people who watch those sports, could tell you exactly what that identity is. 



Warriors: Play awesoem defense and run like hell 

Niners: Smash-mouth football with amazing defense

Seahawks: See above

Patriots: Tom Brady (Try to imagine the patriots without Tom Brady)

Alabama (college football): Smash-mouth with aweomse run-game

Lakers (back in the day when they were good): Triangle offense (Lakers without Kobe don't have an identity, which is why they suck)

Miami: The big 3 



I mean, those were just some brief examples, but they all have identities-something about themselves that makes them who they are, and it is having those identities that helps these teams rise to another level. It informs all aspects of the decision making process for these teams, from recruitment and drafting to free agency moves, roster cuts, etc. - it's all based around their identity.



Obviously, I'm pretty into sports, so for me, seeing it this way definitley made it easier to see just how important "identity" is. But what I also think is cool about this, is that it shows us how our "identity" isn't set in stone.  



In fact, based on what I've seen in sports, I would argue that your identity is entirely a result of who you consciously decide you want to be, and the subsequent actions you take to define yourself. Any one of those teams above, could go through a process of completely redefining themselves. Granted, that process would take time, but over a period of 3-5 years a team could go from being one identity, to all of a sudden being something completely different (it seems like it happens "all of a sudden" to everyone else, but it's actually the result of consisent "moves" or "action" taken by those teams over that 3-5+ year span)



So, in the same way that those sports team can redefine themselves, we can do the same. We have the power to completely control what our identity is, and if we like our identity, and more importantly, if we have bought-into our identity, we can continue to make consistent moves in the "off season" to improve the strengths associated with that identity, as well as shore up the weaknesses. If we don't like, or simply haven't bought into whatever our current identity is, we can make a detour, decide to go a different direction, and while it will take time, we have completely control to make consistent moves in whatever direction we choose to re-brand ourselves. 



The medicore sports teams in the world, are the ones who don't really have an identity. When I think of like the ultimate, "Medicore Team"- First thing that comes to my mind are the Miami Dolphins. They aren't bad, but they also certainly aren't good. They finish just out of the playoffs, and are either right at 0.500 or maybe slightly above it. 



They are a team completely without an identity - They are medicore. 



So yeah, if I could sum up this post- I'd say:



Be like the Forty Niners.... Don't be like the Dolphins