If this post had a subtitle, it would be, "What we can learn from 320-lb men running at full speed." It turns out, we can learn a lot.

This post is about one of the primary hurdles to peak performance -- uncertainty. When we are faced with uncertainty, which in sport is essentially all the time, we have a few options:

1) Doubt, which leads to hesitation, which makes peak performance nearly impossible.
2) Anxiety/Fear, which looks and sounds like asking a series of "what if?" questions. These questions are distracting at best, and paralyzing at worst.
3) Avoidance of mistakes and failure. The problem here is, playing not to lose is a highly effective strategy for...losing.
4) Lean into the uncertainty. Acknowledge it, accept it, embrace it, let go of the outcome and let it rip.

For a powerful example of what it looks like to lean into uncertainty and let it rip, we can look to -- where else? -- a 320-lb defensive lineman who finds himself totally out of his element, forced to act like a running back half his size.

In 2015, Ashton Henderson of Southeast Louisiana University found himself in this situation, and his description of how he responded captures what I am trying to pass on to you. Please follow this link to a clip of Henderson's scoop-and-score, and more importantly, his post-game analysis of the play. Be sure to watch until the end of the 1:30 clip, as this is where he offers this valuable nugget of wisdom:
Reporter: When you got in the open, did you know you were going to house it (i.e., score)?
Henderson: Well, I didn't know, but I ran like I did know.

In your endeavors, both on and off the field, you may not know if you are going to score. But run like you do know.