Some aspire for the heights, others feel they are falling just short of where they want to be, many are comfortable where they are, others are seeking safety, while others are fighting for survival. Where are you on your life's league table, where do you want to be and how might you get there? Here are my insights and ideas from the beautiful game, for the beautiful Game of your life.

Some observations

Position 1, top spot - the position we are encouraged to strive for as it indicates that whoever occupies this position is the winner, the best, the number 1, the top person in their niche. The top spot is the position with the highest profile and that receives the biggest rewards, the plaudits, and the accolades. The person, team, organisation and product most want to be associated with. The most attractive and appealing position if you want to be considered a success. In the league table of your life, position #1 relates to being the best version of yourself. Where your competition is the person you see in the mirror.

Positions 2- 5 speaks of being just outside the top spot - on the podium for coming second or third; near, but short of the gold medal. For some being among the proverbial top five/in the top 10, 100, or 500, is a measure of how good they are and how well they are doing. For some this is achievement and success all by itself; they are in the top group. Not the best in the class, but in the class nonetheless. For others being in the class, especially when they are not many competitors, is not good enough, they have to be #1 to be a success in their eyes.

Positions 6 – 13 can be described as safe, comfortable, and average places. They are considered average and commonplace because this is where most people are. These mid-table positions are comfortable because they are safe, and far removed from rock bottom. Even though these positions are also far removed from the top spot or one of the top spots, this is considered acceptable because the person, team or organisation that occupies these positions are not among the least of these, they are better than that. These positions can be difficult to level up from because they are safe and comfortable and require no extra effort, investment or stretch to break into the next level. The worry though, is that it just takes a run of bad results to slide into the unsafe zone.

Positions 14 – 17, is a reference to feeling unsafe, under threat and at risk of slipping to the bottom of the pile. While you are safe for now, it’s too close to the bottom. In these low profile positions you are in a vulnerable place, a place that will fill your mind with worry and concern as you are one result, one event away from slipping into the worst scenario. A place where survival is not completely in your hands. Where you hope that things outside your control go your way. You will have to battle hard to avoid slipping into the drop zone.

Positions 18-20, this refers to teams with the lowest profile whose results over a season have brought them to the bottom of the pile. They are propping up the table because they have not done enough to be in a better place. Teams in these positions are are unlikely to survive and are at risk of demotion and relegation, of being downgraded, lessened, reduced, cut! Importantly, and I say more on this later, it is possible to avoid the drop but also to come back from a fall, after demotion and hitting rock bottom.

The serial top teams – refers to people, teams and organisations who have enough about them to consistently compete for the big prizes. They have amassed over many years a range of resources, experiences, mindset, infrastructure, and depth to be up there; to be among the top positions for years to come. Not only do they have reputation and history, their current resources are abundant and their build strategy for the future is robust.

Those who often miss out on the top spots - refers to people, teams and organisations who frequently miss out on being among the high achievers and the most successful. While they have much going for them, which means that they are rarely at risk of relegation and hitting rock bottom, they have been unable to break into the top group. There are many reasons why this might be, including their needing to level up their game, mindset, resources and strategy or because the hold the top teams have on the top spots, because of their resource abundance, means that they will need to attract similar resources if they are to compete. Importantly, in the league table of your life, the issue of there being only so many places at the top doesn’t apply, especially if your goal is  personal-improvement. With personal-development the persons you wish to be better than are the previous versions of yourself. The person you see in the mirror. That’s your measure, hence my focus on your life’s league table - your subjective measure of success, what success means to you! 

The serial mid table teams - a reference to people who have been in the same safe and comfortable positions for much of their history. For some, who have progressed up the table, being mid-table is better than where they were. For some in this position, there is little incentive to climb any higher - they are safe and that's what matters most! If they are not struggling and fighting for survival, they are doing well enough. For some, being any higher or further on is an unrealistic / undesirable aspiration. It's a step too far. The concern however for the mid-table team and mindset, is that it just takes a run of bad results against the run of play or the loss of some significant contributor to your success so far, to slide back into the unsafe zone. My encouragement to you is to keep climbing in knowledge, mindset and skills.

The serially struggling teams – is a reference to people, teams and organisations that have only known struggle throughout their life and history. For some, historical disadvantage has left them with too few resources and a mountain to climb. For others they know nothing of the kind of opportunities and resources that others have access to. They have never been anywhere near the top of the league. They are the ones that top teams like to come up against. What serially struggling teams need in the Game of life is to be invested in, not given up on!

Yo-yo teams – this is a reference to people, teams and organisations that are frequently up and down. While they have enough about them to come back from demotion and being cut, they don’t yet have enough about them to prevent this from happening again the following year. For some they experience what is referred to as second season syndrome, they start well and look promising but fall away the following year after a positive first year start.

Newcomers to the league – is a reference to people, teams, and organisations that have grown out of, and come up from a lower league, having done enough to be promoted, and are now on a bigger stage. For some the next level up is both daunting and exciting, it's what they have hoped and worked for for years. What they lack in experience, they make up in energy and enthusiasm. For debutants, survival in this new arena is their primary goal. While some may expect them not to do well in this new arena, at this level, they are here on merit and therefore have something to contribute. They possess the assets of the underdog that could serve them well. 

The whipping boys of the league - sadly, this is a reference to people, teams, and organisations that frequently take a pasting in the Game of life because they are poorly resourced, lack skill, tactical and technical knowledge, investment, and infrastructure. They lose big and often and tend to be in the drop zone throughout much of the season.

Fallen out of the league – a reference to people, teams and organisations who were unable to avoid the drop, who hit rock bottom, and who are now among those who occupy the lower league positions. People who want to get back to where they once were, at the earliest opportunity. For some the demotion hit them hard and 5 years on they are still languishing in the lower leagues. Perhaps sliding further down, unable to recover their best form. For others they were able to bounce back the following season. There's no shame here, though this will be felt intensely at first, there's hope. Many of the top teams of the beautiful game, have a story of relegation in their history. The need of the hour for those who have fallen away and dropped of the charts, is to learn from the drop, to invest in their development and to play their way back into the promotion places. 

Top team finishes season badly – whilst it is true that there are teams in the beautiful game that are serial achievers, from time to team one of the top teams will have an off season, a bad run of form that ends with them being way below where they would normally be in the rankings. Perhaps not as far down as being in the relegation places, but nonetheless the kind of decline that has put them in a struggling and precarious place. Most will have enough about them to recover from the dip and be back where they were and often are. Nevertheless, it is a humbling object lesson for how hath the mighty fallen?

Lower position team surprises everyone - the opposite to a usually great team being in rapid decline, is when a team in the lower rankings finds a good vein of form and overachieves in ways that surprises everyone. Not only have they had a win they are having successive wins which is elevating their stock and attracting attention. They have unleashed the assets of the underdog and are clearly better for it.

Some league position goals  

To be the top team – some people, teams, organisations are supremely motivated to be number 1 in their niche. To be the standard-bearer, the one everyone literally looks up to. Being the best has many trappings attached, including attracting attention, interest, accolades, respect, honour, fame, favour, and prestige. Where such a position is honourably obtained then respect is deserved. The challenge and the motivation is the pressure to remain on top, as your closest rivals will be raising their game in order to compete with you.

To avoid the drop – a reference to a person, team or organisation that was in a precarious position, staving off being dropped, demoted, cut, at the death. Perhaps they got a stay of execution at the last minute, or someone did them a favour which meant that they have been reprieved. This kind of close shave should serve as a wakeup call to do whatever needs to be done to avoid being in this situation again.

To be safe and not struggling – is a comfortable place to be, it is a position that has moderate aspirations and little stretch, and where growth and increase is not the primary goal but maintenance. The goal is not growth and becoming more, but on settling and not becoming less than. As stated, a mindset that is happy to settle, is prone to being unsettled and overtaken by people who are hungry for increase, improvement and growth. 

To be safe and not fighting for survival – this worry is at the heart of our greatest concern as human beings, survival. Being in the lowest places in the game of life, is life and wellbeing threatening literally, and while it may be a strong source of motivation, the kind of motivation that involves fighting back from death’s door, it is too close to the edge to be enabling. My plea to anyone who feels that they are on the brink of checking out, is to check in with someone who can help you avoid the drop! The Game of life needs your contribution. We need you to survive!

To do better than the previous season - this I think is among the great ways to do the Game of life on our spinning ball: personal improvement rather than competitive improvement. This kind of motivation is about incremental increase and improvement over time for yourself. Unlike suddenly coming into exponential personal success, incremental improvement is about building over time the habits, attitudes, skills and experiences that sustain success. Its about setting personal bests and successively exceeding them. It's about increasing your stock and adding more value so that your life is on the up.

To finish above another team - the wish to do better than someone else, perhaps a rival, can be a helpful source of motivation. It is however an inferior source of motivation because it’s about being better than but not necessarily as good as one could be. In the beautiful game, it’s when a team doesn’t mind where they finish at the end of the season, if its above their local rival.

Ideas from the Tactics Head Coach

Wherever you are on your life’s league table, and I encourage you to choose a description/s that fit where you are currently, the following should prove helpful. 

• Engage in next level training and coaching - the kind of input from those who know how, that nudges you towards continuous incremental improvement in knowledge and capabilities, habits, mindset, attitudes, and behaviours

• Acquire new and develop your current resources - for your present and your future self, things currently outside of you that need to be become part of your set up

• Upgrade one’s mind set - so that you are growth-minded, don’t settle for less than or the same as before

• Commit to an incremental improvement plan - and be intentional about it, take responsibility for your progression

• Be around people who are progressing and achieving - being around them with note pad and pen will positively affect your beliefs, aspirations and performance

• Don’t see where you are, wherever you are, as fixed and determined - it can all change for you and against you, against the run of play, so be attentive and humble.

• If you are decline - get help to arrest this downward trend so that you are able to play your way back into the Game of your life

• If you have fallen away, dropped off the chart - learn from it, invest in your progression, and plan and implement your comeback strategy. 

Tony

 
Tony Bryce

Series Creator & Head Coach

For information about how Tony could help you with your game and league position, visit https://www.thetacticscoach.com/

Should you happen to be anywhere near Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, anytime soon, Tactics @ BD5, could be right up your street. Tactics @ BD5 combines live training, Game Management Group Coaching and an actual game of 6-aside-football, in ways that relate to the whole person, are challenge-based and fun. Inclusive of light lunch and winner's medals, Tactics @ BD5 is much more than a fun kick about; for you, it could be a game - changing day out! Sign up here!