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When the lights are the brightest, the stakes are the highest, and all eyes are watching, those who rise to the moment are rarely surprised by it. Why? Because they’ve been there before. Not necessarily in the stadium, on the field, or in front of the big client, but in the quiet, gritty, and repetitive hours of practice. They’ve made the move a hundred times before it ever mattered.

Elite athletes, masterful gamers, accomplished performers, these people don’t just show up and “figure it out.” They prepare. They sweat. They fail. They adjust. And they do it when no one’s watching, precisely so they can deliver when everyone is.

The practice behind performance

Golfers don’t wait for the tournament to learn how to hit out of a bunker or adjust their swing for a downhill lie. They put themselves through every scenario imaginable before they ever step onto the first tee. Likewise, tennis pros hit forehands, backhands, and serves over and over again, against lefties, righties, net rushers and baseliners, so that nothing rattles them during a match.

Quarterbacks study defenses and prepare audibles not so they might use them, but because they know they will have to. MLB pitchers memorize hitters’ weaknesses and develop sequences of pitches for each batter, count and game condition. They don’t leave anything to chance.

Even a recreational skier knows better than to assume every trail is the same. Shifting snow, moguls, icy patches and tree lines all require anticipation, balance and muscle memory.

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What’s your game plan?

Now let’s bring that down from the slopes, off the field and into your life. Because here’s the truth: Life is coming for you. And it’s not always friendly.

We live in a world of distraction, disruption and division, the “3 Ds.” That’s your opponent. And it’s relentless. Curveballs will be thrown. People will lie to you, some subtly, some blatantly. Situations will knock you off balance, surprise and frustrate you.

So the question is: Are you ready?

Have you practiced how you’ll respond when the storm hits? Or are you hoping you’ll just “figure it out” in the moment?

Salespeople who thrive don’t wing it. They roleplay objections before they hear them. They rehearse how to respond to pricing pushback, to questions about the competition, to ghosting, and to negotiation traps. That preparation, done behind the scenes, becomes fluidity in the real game.

Building a values-based foundation

You need a life playbook, too. And it starts with knowing who you are, your values, beliefs and anchors in the storm. When division shows up, is unity your move? When adversity knocks, do you respond with resilience? When offense is hurled your way, do you offer grace?

If the world throws chaos, confusion and cruelty at you, what are your practiced responses? Are kindness, humility, forgiveness and compassion just ideas you agree with, or are they moves you’ve practiced until they’re second nature?

Make no mistake: life will challenge you. It will confront you with opponents in the form of circumstances, people and inner voices that test your core. If you haven’t prepared, you’ll default to panic, anger or paralysis.

You’ve got the next move

So today, right now, it’s your move. Not in some hypothetical, far-off, big-moment kind of way. But in this moment. You get to decide what you’re practicing. Because what you practice in private is what you’ll perform in public.

What conversations are you rehearsing? What mindset are you building? What virtues are you strengthening so they’re not just concepts, but quick-draw responses?

Don’t wait for the game to start to prepare. Because, ready or not, it already has, and the next move is yours.

How about you? Are you more likely to take things as they come and deal with it all in the moment? Or are you someone who prefers to be prepared, like the U.S. Coast Guard, Semper Paratus, always prepared? Either way, I always love hearing your stories at gotonorton@gmail.com and when we take the time to plan to win and prepare to win, it really will be a better-than-good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager, and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.