Mizzou Football on Consistency

Consistent play is as critical to increasing the number of wins in the team’s W column as it is to potentiating the success of your individual career. Consistency allows you to continue winning each step of the way after initial triumphs as well. Yes, you can still win without consistency, but don’t expect a fruitful career if you don’t bring your best everyday. If you do not exhibit consistency, you will go through a tiring valley of winning and losing, peaking and plummeting throughout the game, your season and your career simultaneously. Choosing a streaky work ethic is more exhausting than anything else.

With that said, know brining anything less than your “A” game will make you vulnerable, and with your “B” game, anyone can beat you. This is why Mizzou athletes should always hope to bring their best to all they do. Because of this, you should also know bringing your best is an investment. You must make deposits into the bank of your “A” game every morning when you wake up. However, consistency is not something you just turn on or make happen over night. Bringing your “A” game means fighting the battle within you everyday that rigorously demands you to never give anything less than your greatest effort.

This requires practice.

Some days you will fail in your efforts, falling flat on your face in humiliation, embarrassment and even shame. But being consistent is not about being perfect—not at all. It has nothing to do with impossible standards. No, being consistent is about continuing to fight again and again and again, and as unpleasant as it sounds, the person you will fight is yourself. But in the end, this is the only method that is truly rewarding. In the end, this is the only method capable of realizing self-improvement. As you grow, you will look back at your old self, and see how far you have come. Your coaches, friends and family will see this, too. When they do, no one will be more proud of you, and this is when you will know it was worth it.