Put in the Work — In Silence

During Super Bowl LVI Media Day last week, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow shared some timeless advice to aspiring athletes.

“Don’t have a workout and post it on Instagram the next day and then go sit on your butt the next day, and everyone thinks you’re working hard, but you’re not,” he said.

“Work in silence. Don’t show everybody what you are doing. Let your game on Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sunday nights show all the hard work you put in. Don’t worry about all that social media stuff.”

Burrow’s self-awareness was wise beyond his years — and we as leaders can apply it into our daily Super Bowl called life.

Social media is undoubtedly powerful — and has its many pros and cons. But if we allow it to use us instead of us strategically using it, it can distract us from actually doing and sustaining the work. The validation that stems from it can ultimately beget complacency — leading us to cheat the process by focusing more on the outcome.

So ask yourself: what if we took moments in our days to block out the noise and lock in on our aspirations? That next project, meeting, that next rep, that practice, that next date with your partner, that next conversation with your loved one or your child’s next game.

What if we began to focus more on acknowledging the inward journey of ourselves and those we lead while canceling out the internal and external chatter? In a world of excess commentary and opinions, solitude, self-care and silence become more powerful, meaningful and transformative for our personal growth.

While it is easy to sit beyond our keyboard and judge and dehumanize athletes like Burrow when we’re annoyed at their performance, it would be far wiser to lean in and study them — and see how their habits and mindsets might fit into our own lives.

Each of us has a talent, a gift and a story. What separates good from great and great from legendary is the relentless ability to master the mind and cultivate moments in our daily living to cancel out and shut out the noise. When we are able to do that with consistency, we allow ourselves to keep the main thing the main thing.

Our dreams do not work unless we pursue them with consistency. Envisioning goals without action and intentionality merely become wishful thinking.

So, the next time you think about publicizing some aspect of your growth to the world, ask yourself, is this really necessary?

Or would I be better off working in silence and allowing my actions to do the talking?