Thank God it’s Fundamental Friday. This weekly article will venture into the fundamental elements of a variety of aspects of our lives and present the questions to us all, “Are we fundamental sound?”
Reliability: The fundamental word for this Friday.
Reliability is the quality of being trustworthy or of performing consistently well. Trustworthy is able to be relied on as honest or truthful. The essence of reliability is captured in trustworthy and performing consistently. The combination of being reliable, honest and consistent requires an individual to be humble and committed in every situation.
The sport of track includes field events that often are overlooked by the glamour of the sprinting events like the 100-meter dash, 200 meters, 400 meters and the accompanying relays, the 4x 100 and 4×400. Field events like the long jump, triple jump, and the high jump combine an athlete’s speed with their ability to jump. Let’s focus on the high jump and the reliable components required to be successful.
The high jump has three components that require the reliability of an athlete. Those components are the in phases of preparation, approach, and jump. The preparation phase incorporates relying on your training and focusing on completing the jump consistently. The approach phase has to be the same from takeoff to strides and transitioning into the jump phase. As the athlete jumps, he must trust in his/her ability as well as their consistency in executing the jump.
The reliability in a high jumper or any track and field athlete begins on with their approach to practice. Each athlete has to be honest with themselves and has to show their coach that they are reliable and trustworthy. Showing up to practice is not enough. Athletes must come ready to put in 100% for the entire practice. An athlete trustworthiness is essential to their success. How athletes practice has to be consistent to ensure that their performance is at a peak.
In life, the successes we experience is a direct result of how reliable our attitudes and actions are on a daily basis. Being truthful to ourselves and others determine how we are received by others and ourselves. Trust in the most important element in any relationship and without trust, there is no relationship. When trust is present, the action is consistent and can be relied upon. It is this reliability that is required to persevere through tough times and situation that challenge us beyond the imaginable.
Similar to the track athlete, our preparation, approach and jump in life have to be based on an aspect of reliability that must be present in our attitudes and actions. To be considered a reliable person, one must be consistent in every aspect of their lives. The trusting that an individual is going to do what they say becomes extremely important.
God and all His creations demonstrate an example of reliability on a daily bases. From the sun that rises in the east and set in the west, to the important air we breathe that allows us to have life, we can witness God’s reliability all around us. The essence of reliability is that we don’t have to think about it. We know that God and God’s creations are going to do exactly what God purpose for them to do.
Can others apply this concept to us? When people that love you, work with and play with you depend on you to be trustworthy and consistent, they are relying on you to be consistent and honest. It is impossible to be fundamentally sound and not be reliable.
Fundamentally, we need to exhibit the same reliability in our lives that God presents to us daily. Our family, friends and even those we don’t know will need to know that we are trustworthy and consistent. Then, like the rising of the sun in the east and the set in the west, our reliability will be one of the elements that lead to our success in everything we do.
I am Ricardo Pryor, “The Motivator.” My education in mathematics combined with my coaching / mentoring expertise has provided an opportunity for me to visualize and incorporate the fundamentals of life, sports and faith to create a strong foundation for success. It is my goal to motivate other to master the fundamentals in order to reach a level of success built on an indestructible foundation.