No, showing up is NOT half the battle.

We’ve all heard this phrase being passed back and forth to help motivate people and more commonly, it’s used to make us feel better.

“We didn’t win, but hey, showing up is half the battle.”

“I’m tired today, but I came anyway. Hey, showing up is half the battle.”

No, it’s not!

The battle hasn’t even begun. You just showed up. This drives me absolutely nuts. It’s insane to think that we’re going to grow or get better by merely showing up. If showing up is your battle, then you’re in the wrong game. Get out now.

In business, the battle doesn’t start until you’ve exhausted your list of leads, it’s late in the day, you’re tired, and you still have to make sales. Or when you and your team are working hard to meet a deadline only to find out that the timeline got bumped up by a week. That’s when the battle starts.

In your relationships, to me, showing up is as necessary as breathing, and no one gives awards for breathing. If you want your relationships to thrive, then you get to show up in a big way each and every time. The battle starts at 3 AM when you’re tired, but your wife and son are both sick, so you stay up and take care of them both. That’s when it starts. That’s not even half of it.

In your health, the battle starts when you sit down with colleagues after work for a bite to eat and you get to choose what it is that you’re going to eat – the nachos or the chicken salad.

The battle doesn’t start when you show up.. .and showing up certainly isn’t half of it. The battle begins when your discipline and drive are tested. This is the starting point. I’m not sure where the halfway point is precisely, as I think it’s a moving target, but I do know that showing up doesn’t even register on the scale.

The next time you hear someone say “Hey, showing up is half the battle.” Just smile. You know that battle hasn’t begun because you’re playing at an entirely different level. Your game is different than theirs – no need to judge, just accept them for where they’re at today.

As a leader, showing up in your business, for your family, for your community, and for yourself is just the norm.

This is why leaders train both their minds and their bodies. Because when the actual battle does start, they’ll be ready.

Will you?