Mastering the Inner Game: A Farewell Lesson from Pete Carroll

Bill Belichick and Nick Saban garnered many of the headlines amid last week’s college and professional football coaching changes, but another significant shift took place when Pete Carroll surprisingly left his position as Seattle Seahawks coach after 14 years.

Throughout his illustrious career, Carroll — who will transition into an advisory role with the franchise — has been a beacon of humanity, infusing his leadership with a unique blend of wisdom and enthusiasm.

His departure from the sidelines marked the end of an era, but he left a trail of wisdom with his parting words with critical lessons in coaching, leadership and life in general.

"The essence of being as good as you can be is you gotta figure out who you are," Carroll said.

"You gotta figure out in that relentless effort to get clear about what's important to you, what uncompromising principles do you stand by, what makes you who you are, so if you don't go through that process, if you don't do the self-discovery, then you don't have an opportunity to be your best because you don't know who you are yet."

Carroll's words are a critical blueprint for navigating the journey of self-discovery and self-leadership. He emphasizes the importance of understanding oneself — a sentiment often overlooked in the fast-paced, results-driven worlds of sports, business and beyond.

"For anybody, you have to understand what kind of player you are, you have to understand what kind of coach you are, you have to understand what kind of person you are, what kind of dad you are, and all the way down the line, to maximize your authenticity and be connected to that true essence of who you are,” he said.

“That's what's crucial."

Authenticity and self-connection, Carroll believes, are the keys to discovering greatness and sustaining excellence over time.

"It's hard to be consistently successful, cause people don't even know how they got there a lot of times,” he said. “It just happens kinda along the way, circumstances come together and all. So that's, to me, the essence of it.”

Without knowing ourselves, we risk being inconsistent and pulled in many different directions, impacting how we show up for those we lead.

As we climb daily to reach the pinnacles in our respective fields, it’s important to recognize that we will be tested and exposed at points.

Our self-awareness and the inner work we have put into knowing ourselves can empower and support us in these moments.

Carroll's parting words serve as a guiding light for all who continue to embark on their journeys of self-discovery, whether in sports, business, leadership or life itself.

The path to sustained excellence begins with knowing oneself — a timeless lesson from a Hall-of-Fame coach whose transformative impact extends far beyond the football field.

Assessing Coachability: Ask about a time they've improved, then ask them to describe the process. Coachability, like many other traits, is dynamic. Put another way, the degree to which someone is coachable.

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