“Good players want to be coached…Great players want to be told the truth.”
-Doc Rivers
When you reach the higher levels of any endeavor (music, sports, business, baking, etc.), everyone is good. What separates those barely making the cut from those competing at the end, the ones whose names become known and accumulate accolades and wealth?
The future great ones want to know the truth. The harshest possible truths.
“They are better than you because they do X.”
“This is not good enough.”
“You have more to give.”
“You don’t work hard enough.”
“They care more than you.”
It’s hard. It bruises our ego. It hurts.
And yet those who want to be great want to hear it. They want to know the holes in their game so that they can either fix them or compensate.
They want to be exposed to the brutal reality in practice so they can adjust and prepare instead of being overwhelmed or have their weaknesses exploited in a game situation when there is something more at stake than their ego.
The truth hurts but will set you free. The more truth you can suffer, the freer you will be.