Positive Pressure

He was the first of my college football teammates to die. A hulking lineman, he had struggled with weight in recent years. But then, the competitor he was, he got serious and started losing it. Still, he dropped dead of a heart attack at 51.

So when another former teammate, a linebacker, showed up at a game weighing 280 pounds, I decided to apply positive pressure. ‘Mike,’ I said, ‘we’ve just lost one teammate, we don’t want to lose another. You’re going to lose some weight.’ He agreed. And then we negotiated: How much would he have to lose? Fifty pounds. By when? Within one year. And how much would he have to contribute to the Alumni Football Association if he didn’t? $2,000.

One year later, before the start of another game, a group of us gathered around a scale. Mike stepped up … 55 pounds lighter than the year before. Victory!

When there’s no pressure – self-induced or otherwise – there’s nothing to respond to. Your will atrophies. It’s like floating in a zero-gravity environment; your muscles and bones aren’t challenged so they deteriorate.

Positive pressure is good. It means challenging people. To achieve a goal they believe in. Letting them know you believe in them. Letting them know there are consequences. And most importantly, letting them know you care.

Exert positive pressure.

Your thoughts?

Michael

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