Take the Stairs

I have several little idiosyncratic routines that I bestow upon my athletes.  They're often silly and create a number of interesting conversations.  At the same time, a few of them stick and become personal convictions of others.

I made a personal commitment to always choose the stairs and not take elevators.  When I traveled to Paris in 2001, I took the stairs to the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower (674 steps) and went up and down the stairs outside the Sacre Coeur several times.  After that, there was no turning back and now traveling provides a lot of inconvenient obstacles.  My athletes will confirm this.

"Taking the stairs" went to a new level last week as one of our athletes moved into his 5th story dorm room.  Normally, it wouldn't be a conversation starter for him to take the stairs.  It's just the way it is and it's not negotiable.  However, the commitment went to new heights because he's fresh off ACL surgery.

They way we attack these small commitments is to remain 100% committed no matter what occurs.  It's easier to do something 100% of the time than it is 99% of the time.  The decision had already been made, so a repaired ACL wasn't going interfere with this college freshman taking the stairs.

What are some of your idiosyncrasies that you're certain set you apart?