Raise Your Hands a Little Higher

I came across a video this weekend of a football coach speaking to his team. He asked everyone to raise their hands as high as they could. Arms shot into the air across the room. Then he said, “Alright, now raise them just a little bit higher.”And here’s what happened; every single person’s hand went up further. Not by much, but higher than before.

The coach paused and let the team take that in. Even when they thought they had given all they had, there was still a little more left. That moment has stayed with me, because isn’t that true in nearly every part of life and work? We push ourselves to what feels like the limit. We tell ourselves we have given everything. Yet when the right challenge or encouragement is placed in front of us, somehow we find a little more. Excellence is found in that extra inch.

As this quarter winds down, I see teams beginning to feel spent. Long hours, big goals, plenty of obstacles and it is tempting to believe that we are tapped out. But the truth is that most of us still have that extra inch left in us. The difference between good and great, between almost and achievement, between surviving and excelling, is often found in that small stretch beyond what we first thought possible.

This is not about grinding ourselves down or ignoring real limits. Rest and recovery matter. But it is about recognizing the hidden capacity that sits inside all of us. When the moment matters, we can stretch. We can deliver more than we believed we could.

As we head into this week, think about where we might raise our hands just a little higher. It could be one more thoughtful follow up with a client, it might be an extra layer of polish on a project before it goes out, or maybe it is one more check in with a teammate who could use support. Small efforts, multiplied across a team or an organization, can have an enormous impact.

The football coach’s point was simple but powerful. Our limits are usually not where we think they are. Growth, achievement, and excellence all live just beyond that line. So as the quarter rounds out, remember this lesson: raise your hand a little higher.