Mount Vernon High School

April 5, 2024 Do You Have That Fire in You? In a sport that’s popularity has been driven primarily by men, someone new has emerged as the face of college basketball. Interest in the women’s game has grown substantially thanks in large part to the play of Caitlin Clark, the sharp-shooting basketball superstar who’s now scored more points than anyone - man or woman - in college basketball history, and who’s led the University of Iowa to their second straight Final Four. The increasing spotlight on Clark has made her a role model for many aspiring female athletes, and in some ways a target for criticism, too. Clark is so fun to watch and so dynamic as an athlete in large part because she is so unapologetically competitive. Like most high-level performers, when Caitlin Clark shows up to play, she shows up to win. Her competitive fire is inspiring to watch, and it’s carried both herself and her team to unprecedented levels of success. She wouldn’t be the player she is without that fire...and she knows it. “I’m competitive. I’m fiery. That’s just how it is,” she said in a recent interview. And she’s right. For her, like it is for anyone who’s fully committed to success in any important area of life - including you and me here today - that competitive fire is necessary. Winning requires it. That’s just how it is. So it’s worth taking a minute today for each of us to stop and reflect on what part this critical competitive component plays in our pursuit of success. In the important areas of life where you say you want to win, it’s worth asking. Do you have that fire in you? In the places it really matters, is it obvious that you’ve shown up to win? When you watch Caitlin Clark perform, her passion and enthusiasm are evident. She clearly understands that when you’re chasing success in a high-stakes environment, just going through the motions and hoping for the best won’t cut it. If you want it, then you better be willing to compete for it. If today you recognize that you don’t have that competitive fire in you, then you better figure out how to find it…or you better accept that success for you just isn’t meant to be. If, on the other hand, you’re here today and recognize that, like Caitlin Clark, you do have that fire, then the challenge for you - just like it is for her - is different. Despite her success, Clark’s received criticism from some observers who’ve been turned off by what’s come across as incessant complaining and negative body language towards referees, coaches, and teammates. That behavior highlights the challenge that exists for anyone who is ultra competitive. You’ve got the fire, but how do you make sure you use it for good? Fire is by its very nature, after all, an extremely powerful resource. Competitive fire is no different. It’s a powerful resource that can raise your level and elevate your performance in those moments when your best is required. That’s what it’s done for Caitlin Clark. But while fire is valuable, it can also be dangerous, especially when left unchecked and uncontained. If we aren’t careful, fire can quickly and easily spread beyond our control, and even destroy some of the things that we’ve worked hard to build. The competitive fire burning inside us is no different. It’s useful. It’s necessary. It’s good. But unchecked and uncontained, it can be dangerous. What does competitive fire look like when it’s used for good? And when can it actually distract you from doing what winning requires? See if you can tell in the pictures below. If you are highly competitive, then becoming your best requires you to use that fire to your benefit and not to your detriment. That starts with building the awareness it takes to recognize your areas of challenge. For Caitlin Clark, a bad call by a referee or a critical mistake from herself or from a teammate burns her up because it stands in the way of winning. But what I'm sure she’s working to learn, like we all are, is that her response in a challenging moment is just as important to winning - sometimes even more important to winning, in fact - than whatever it is that’s fired her up in the first place. The more of her time and energy she gives to some unhealthy outburst, the less she's able to give to whatever response winning in that high-stakes environment requires her to choose. The same is true for each of us. Ironically, if we don’t do it right, our burning desire to win can actually destroy the performance, the relationships, and the identity success requires us to build. But the true measure of our competitiveness - that is, the commitment we've made to doing what it takes to win - is our willingness to do what we don't feel like doing because we recognize it's what must be done. If you’re here today with that competitive fire burning, then you're in good company. You've got a critical competitive component that winning requires you to possess. Just make sure you use it for good. -Travis