In his book The Winner Within, former NBA coach Pat Riley offers some insights on the danger of compromising excellence.
He writes:
Being a game player is a fiction some people use to excuse themselves from working as hard as they should. People who think they are game players are what coaches call “floaters.” They float along on a cushion of talent or sheer physical size and strength. They don’t see what all the fuss over concentration and work ethic is about until players of lesser talent start scoring in their face, quarter ofter quarter, simply because they are more in tune with their game…Eventually every team has to learn that excellence isn’t a destination. It’s a process that must be continually improved (pp. 150-151).
Of course, NBA players and coaches are committed to excellence because they want to win a championship. These can be good motives, but as followers of Christ, the motive that drives us to excellence should be a desire to please God. The one who will give us our final reward. Everything we do should be done with a conscious awareness of His presence, a realization that he is watching.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, Colossians 3:23
The Apostle Paul reflected that such awareness should prompt us, regardless of our field of endeavor, to “work at it with all [our] heart.” Men and women who follow Christ aren’t “floaters.” They give their best effort all of the time, knowing that there is never a circumstance during which the one they follow is not with them, urging them on to their finest.
Are there situations in which you “float?” If so, Why?
