All Things Inspired

It's time to have the 4th quarter mentality!

You're watching a close football game. Both teams have battled for supremacy as the clock runs out of time in the third quarter. As the official blows the whistle to start the final quarter, you notice that players on both teams are holding up 4 fingers. You may or may not know that they are acknowledging that it is the start of the 4th quarter. But that's not all. This is their way of signaling that it's time to have the 4th quarter mentality!

This is their confirmation to themselves and their teammates that it's time to turn up the intensity. To increase their determination. And to focus on executing their game plan. The same holds true for each of us regardless of what we do in life. It means that we know we are entering the last quarter of the year and if we are to realize our goals this year, we need to have the same level of intensity, determination, and focus as those sports teams have in the 4th quarter of the game.

Is this mentality important just because we know time is running short on our time sensitive goals? I don't think that's the case at all. In fact, let me give you an analogy; many years ago, a good friend and I were talking about the NBA (National Basketball Association). This was back in the Michael Jordan era. My friend made a comment that has always stuck with me to this day. He said that they should just give each team 100 points and let them fight it out for three minutes for the victory. While this may seem to be what a basketball game comes down to, I don't think it's a comprehensive assessment of a standard basketball game. You see, a basketball game, much like any other sport, involves preparation (planning and practice), strategizing, focus, adjustments, execution, and finishing strong. It's about becoming better at their game, accepting the challenge of competition, and experiencing the results of the hard work put into honing their craft.

The same holds true toward the pursuit of our individual goals. We may not be superstar athletes, but we still need to take the same approach and dedication to mastering our craft. We need to adopt the 4th quarter mentality to finish our year strong. But understand that all the attributes put into the game are not just in preparation for the 4th quarter. You should take the same approach throughout the year. Doing so will help you be paced for a strong finish and help you avoid using the 4th quarter to catch up on deficiencies in your plan throughout the year.

Regarding approaching the entire year with the proper mentality, consider this approach from well-known college football coach Brian Kelly. While coaching at Notre Dame University from 2010 to 2021, he had a paradigm for winning. It was taught over and over in the locker room. I believe he referred to it as the four-leaf clover (an Irish thing) of winning. It went something like this:

1st Quarter - the team talked about getting off to a quick start and how important that was in the first quarter.
2nd Quarter - is attention to detail, making sure everyone was executing to the best of their ability.
3rd Quarter - the focus was on effort and enthusiasm as they were starting to tire.
4th Quarter - was for finishing strong, that if they accomplished the goal of each previous quarter, they could finish the game victoriously.

This is a great approach to consider as you are finishing this year and beginning to set your goals for next year. Break your overall goal into something more specific for each quarter. I believe if we do this, we can better focus on our goals throughout the year and avoid the 4th quarter panic of "catching up" because we failed to execute on our plan throughout the year. It's the concept of having a 4th quarter mindset throughout the year. Finish strong. But finish strong each quarter!

If you really want to finish this year strong, here are some specific things you can do:

Have a singular focus - imagine you and I are sitting down over dinner on December 31st, and you say to me, "I really crushed it these last 90 days." Now, to be able to say that what would need to happen? What would you need to get done? Is it solely your main goal for the year, or can you have a couple of different things that you're striving to achieve in the last 90 days? What are your priorities for a successful 4th quarter?
Make every quarter the 4th quarter - as we mentioned earlier, have a goal for each quarter all year long. This helps keep the focus and make the significance of your goals more impactful, so you avoid complacency at any point in the year.
Play to your strengths - rely on what you do best. Critical situations, pressure moments may not be the best time to try something new. That doesn't mean to always avoid these situations. You must utilize your strengths to leverage your opportunities and prepare yourself to adapt to new things.
Keep your foot on the accelerator - it's easy to let up on your drive this time of year, but don't! The 4th quarter means that your final chance of making an impact on the results is rapidly approaching. If you're behind, you need to step up your pace. If you're ahead, you can't foolishly think that you can just coast to victory.
Conditioning is key - have you conditioned yourself throughout the year to finish strong in the 4th quarter? Great teams find the endurance needed to finish strong while others fizzle. The greatest teams condition themselves mentally and physically to win in critical situations. You can do the same.

Did you hear that? I think the whistle to start the 4th quarter was just blown. Do you throw in the towel, or do you use it to wipe the sweat off your face and finish strong? The 4th quarter starts now, so...

Be inspired! Inspire others!