That’s the lesson the Dallas Cowboys exemplified yesterday, as they pulled off the upset over the Philadelphia Eagles with a final score of 24-21. The win was even more remarkable considering the fact the Cowboys trailed the Eagles 0-21 late in the second quarter.
After the game, there was one play in particular that stood out and had everyone talking. It involved Cowboys rookie Alijah Clark.
Late in the fourth quarter, with score knotted up at 21, the Cowboys were forced to punt. Clark starts off far from the action, as Eagles safety Sydney Brown repeatedly pushes Clark further and further away, even knocking him to the ground. But Clark keeps getting back up and pushing forward, runs across the field, and finally makes his way to the receiver where he forces a fumble.
Just watch for yourself:
“Cowboys Rookie [Defensive Back] Alijah Clark is the difference between winning and losing,” said analyst and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III.
“Look at that hustle,” said another former NFL great Tom Brady, who was calling the game. “Great team effort.”
Clark’s play served as a perfect example of resilience, the ability to fight through challenges and bounce back from difficulty. It’s a quality the Cowboys demonstrated in abundance yesterday: Despite everything that went wrong, they refused to give up.
Why is resilience so valuable? And how can you build your resilience muscle? Let’s break it down. (Sign up here for my free email course on emotionally intelligent leadership.)
Why resilience is so valuable
In my work studying the most successful business leaders, industry leaders, athletes, and teams, I’ve found it’s the quality that shows up the most.
Some say that everyone is resilient, that it’s a default behavior. While I agree with that to an extent, I’ve also found that there are levels to resilience. Just as the number of those who show a complete lack of resilience fall in the minority, so does the number of those who show extraordinary resilience.
The reason why Clark’s refusal to give up stands out—and why coaches everywhere will use it to teach the value of relentless effort, is because many players slow down after getting thrown on their butt. They stop trying so hard, or even give up on the play completely.
But the uber-resilient don’t do that.
They spring back up. They work harder, run further. They keep fighting, until something goes their way.
How to build resilience
So, how do you build your resilience muscle?
There are several ways. For one, you can focus on reducing the amount of time you dwell on negative feelings. The most successful professional athletes know that everyone gets down when bad things happen; the difference is in how long you stay down. (The Resilience Game can help you with this.)
But yesterday, Clark showed another key element of resilience, and it has to do with focus.
Namely, if you remain extremely focused on a single task or goal, it’s much easier to brush off anything that tries to get in the way of you achieving that goal.
For example, as you watch the replay, it appears Clark doesn’t care one bit about the opposing player knocking him down. Why not? The entire play, he remains focused on the player with the ball. Anyone and anything in between are just obstacles to be overcome.
You can do the same. Are you focused on starting a new business? Landing a new client? Completing a project, or even a major task for the day?
Make that one thing your most important task. Do everything in your power to make it happen, at least for a pre-determined amount of time.
Doing this will allow you to shake off setbacks. Yes, they’re obstacles to be overcome, but you won’t give them more attention than needed. Because your focus is constant: reaching your immediate goal.
Focus like this will make you more resilient in the moment. It’ll help you put in the effort required to get you places.
Don’t take my word for it. Just ask the Dallas Cowboys—and the rookie who’s helping to set the tone.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
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Justin Bariso
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