Celebrating Too Early
YouTube is an incredible website. It suddenly took the world by storm with very little buildup. Pretty much anything you want to watch that you can think of is available. Whether you’re interested in watching a guy burn a refrigerator, witness an alligator attack, or observe ice cream being thrown on the highway, your imagination is almost the limit. If you can think of it, it exists.
One phenomenon I love is compilations. Sometimes these are curated segments of a TV show that depict every time a beloved character walks through a door without knocking. It could be your favorite podcast guest doing his weekly Questions and Answers segment, with almost every question they’ve ever answered edited together in one convenient video. Compilations are amazing because they either showcase the time and dedication someone had toward editing together a curated segment, or they present a kind of outstanding rare event and show you plenty of them in succession.
A particularly cringe-worthy thing to watch is a compilation of people celebrating too early. I think compilations on YouTube are amazing because you can find this token occurrence that’s unlikely, improbable, or remarkably rare, and then you can watch it happening for twenty minutes straight. This particular genre is a tough one. It usually involves a person who has almost achieved an incredible feat, such as winning a marathon or a race. Basically, it’s a 'tortoise and the hare' scenario. The person who almost wins and celebrates too early arrives at the finish line, where they make noise for the crowd, pump their fists, and engage in lots of other jubilant, victorious behaviors. The problem is, there’s always someone in second place who, while they’re celebrating, closes the deal. I love this character in the story. The person who almost wins, the superior runner, athlete, whatever, is very hard to respect after these clips because they lost focus at the most critical phase. These moments are never casual because they demonstrate an individual who has excelled, trained, and performed until their lack of focus ruins the moment substantially. I always admire the second-place finisher for the way they close out the end. But I often wonder if they truly know that their performance, while ultimately more focused at the pivotal moment, was substantially less impressive outside of their ability to crucially finish the mission. They lacked this mindset at the time they were filmed. They have all excelled and put in work, but they failed in monumental ways when it came to the mental and psychological challenge of winning and finishing strong.
Anyways, enjoy this compilation and read Relentless by Tim Grover. It’s a great read if you enjoy psychotic achievements, competition and excellence.
Frankly, this video serves as a warning to myself, who often does not finish things. Being one of these people is my worst fear, and I love this video because it instills in me a fear, a reminder, and a warning. It reminds me of the importance of seeing things through to the end, of maintaining focus, and of not succumbing to premature celebration. It’s a reminder that true success is not just about starting strong but about finishing strong. So, as entertaining as these compilations may be, they also serve as a sobering lesson for anyone striving for excellence in any endeavor.
Honestly there are so many of these now, hope this is a good one.