Good Enough

By: Pete Sulzer
From www.fireservicewarrior.com

As many in this community say, some of us can never turn “it” off. We are always searching for parallels between events in our lives and our careers in the fire service. We find ourselves performing size-ups while running around our neighborhoods and mentally forcing entry on our friends’ houses. We run through scenarios as we shop in the grocery store, or even as we drive down the road, but “it” never really goes away as we live our lives. Occasionally, this trait takes us beyond the more obvious similarities and I find myself drawing comparisons from unlikely and seemingly unrelated sources, like comparing an athlete’s performance in the Olympic Games to a firefighter’s performance on the fire ground.
The passing of summer’s 2012 Olympics brought the world’s attention upon many feats of athleticism, executed for both personal and national pride. Numerous records were broken in various events, including the 100-meter sprint, the premier event of track and field. The New York Times produced a video infographic displaying every Olympic medalist in the 100 meter since 1896[i]. The data presented some interesting facts, including that despite a century of advancement in technology and training, the gold medal time only improved by 3 seconds. Some would find similarities to the fire service in that statement alone, but the article presented other information of relevance to our profession.

The present-day record holder, Usain Bolt, made his first Olympic appearance at the 2008 Games. In the 100-meter finals, he covered the distance in 9.69 seconds. Not only did he break his own world record, but he also crossed the line with a 2-meter gap between himself and the silver medalist. Two meters is similar to a mile in the sprinting world. However, even with a world record and a gold medal, Bolt’s performance was not sufficient for the critics. Bolt actually slowed down and began celebrating before crossing the finish line. His youthful enthusiasm and ego resulted in a sub-par performance considering the circumstances. A 2009 study at the University of Oslo’s Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics concluded that he could have finished between 9.55 and 9.61 seconds had he maintained his speed until the end[ii]. Bolt redeemed himself at the 2009 World Championships, pushing himself to a new record of 9.58, even though the next runner failed to beat even Bolt’s 2008 time.
Bolt’s 2012 gold medal time was 9.63, an Olympic record, though shy of his personal best. The 2012 silver medalist clocked in at 9.75, still not enough to beat Bolt’s time in the 2008 games. Now, how can we apply this information to our trade? The shift in Bolt’s attitude after 2008 is one point from which we can learn.
The Bolt of 2008 was only looking to win, and he only put forth the effort he needed to do so. He was running arguably the best sprint of his life (perhaps of all time), yet he slacked off at the end and settled for a time that was “good enough.” Firefighters with this “good enough” attitude can easily become liabilities to everyone on the fire ground. This attitude will lead to a firefighter who completes a drill until the first sign of success and then stops, settling for a decent performance rather than striving for excellence.
This is the mindset of complacency and laziness. It begins with the prior example, then sets out dissolving your state of readiness until you find yourself settling for getting on the rig for a fire alarm without donning turnouts because, on the majority of past alarms, your station uniform was “good enough” to get by with. You may get away with some “gold medal” performances this way, but the fire will eventually catch you by surprise, sprinting past you and commencing a game of catch-up that you are destined to fail.
In 2009, Bolt demonstrated a new attitude. He simply pushed himself to his personal limit, beyond what was necessary just to win. He silenced the critics and in the process showed everyone his true potential as a world-class athlete. In this way, we should strive to bear down on the “dragon” with an onslaught of precision and expertise because anything less leaves us at a disadvantage. By striving for excellence, we can tilt the odds in our favor on every call that we respond to. We cannot afford to settle for “good enough” by being content after achieving our first, mediocre success. We must push ourselves further, uncovering our weaknesses in every subsequent failure and building our strengths in the voids left behind. This task does not need to be handled alone because, without external motivation, it is easy for the mind to allow for an occasional lapse in effort. Find your strength in numbers. Identify the warriors in your company and work with them, driving each other just a little more in every drill. As others watch your functional growth, more will join your efforts and you will extract the warriors from those among you. With this attitude, you may even create a warrior out of someone who seemed to be anything but a warrior before.
This attitude is what draws me to the Fire Service Warrior community. Whether on the website or on Facebook, you don’t have to search long to find multiple individuals who are pushing themselves harder than you are that day. It is hard to view an article, status, or photo on FSW and not immediately run off to throw a ladder, clean up some tools, or knock out some burpees. The contributors and readers within this community not only write about the mantra of “we don’t stop,” they live it each day.
The atmosphere of constant improvement in this community is contagious and that is why I am a frequent reader and participant within it. Every post and comment not only teaches a new skill or idea, but also reminds many of us that we have many improvements to make in ourselves. Often that discovery is just what we need to press on past “good enough” and more towards excellence. With each day, I realize that I have numerous areas that I can improve and it does not break my spirit, but humbly builds it. Seeing someone with a higher skill level than I have doesn’t discourage me; it motivates me to make myself better. Following the lead of the warriors before me, the road I’m following is now a perpetual construction zone. As a warrior, continuous and holistic improvement is a necessary part of the life we live. Each day we must become better firefighters, students, and teachers—all at the same time. Our work never ends; we just keep building.
As you forge on through continued development, remember that motivation can come from many sources. As a student of the trade, you may find lessons in everyday life which you can apply to the fire service. Push yourself and your peers toward excellence and never settle for the minimum. Drive on; don’t stop, because “good enough” isn’t good enough.