Lessons from ‘I Believe in Miracles’, and why 2022 must be the Year for Inspiration

By Marcus Timson, FuturePrint

This time of year we often need a dose of inspiration. The festive celebrations are over, the tree is packed away and the green shoots of spring still seem a long way off. We all need a big dose of inspiration to kickstart the new year. So we will be sharing some content throughout January that will help to motivate and spread some much-needed optimism.

Inspiration is THE word for 2022!

Inspiration is the rocket fuel for achievement. I was reminded of this recently by watching ‘I Believe in Miracles’, a documentary film on Netflix. 

It tells the story of UK football club Nottingham Forest's meteoric rise under Brian Clough and Peter Taylor during the 1970s and ’80s. In a short space of time, seemingly from out of nowhere they achieved the amazing feat of becoming double European champions in 1979 and 1980. Clough and Taylor were a powerful partnership with complementary personalities and skills. But together, by having a clear and confident vision, by being able to inspire players from a lowly second division mid-table team, and then recruiting more of the right players (not necessarily the most expensive or most famous) the story of their achievement quite frankly became a football miracle. You must check out the film regardless of whether you like football or not. It is inspiring...

So What Are the Lessons?

We need to think far bigger than we currently do. A comfort zone is a restraining limitation. Most likely, the executive board at Nottingham Forest would have been content with a top 5 finish and a respectable bit of silverware. Clough, however, thought bigger, he sold them a dream and then put in place a process, culture, and team to achieve that dream. He created a vision, instilled confidence, and went about things unconventionally. Then the stars aligned. We all have a comfort zone, but this restricts our progress and our growth. Clough pushed the club way out of its comfort zone, and the results were outstanding with 2 x European Cups (the equivalent of the Champions League today). For club football, it doesn’t get any bigger than that.

Inspired Purpose

Clough, Taylor, and Nottingham Forest also stood for something. They were committed to playing expansive, entertaining, and inspiring football. This contrasted with the physical and defensive style which had defined the 1970s. 

They also employed training and management techniques that were way ahead of their time, including a commitment to recovery and recuperation. This was uncommon at the time. And among other things, they took actions that were outside of what had become the norm. Not being overtly physical and defensive, unlike his previous club (check out another great film, The Damned United) Leeds United where Clough famously failed to make an impact. The result was that the players loved playing for them both, management understood which motivational buttons they needed to press for each player, and by doing so they raised their self-belief and confidence so that they outperformed their expectations and beyond their wildest dreams. It is the perfect example of why creating an inspiring culture of success can be so powerful.

Added to this there was a strong theme of trust within the team. Once they were on the pitch it was over to them. Sure, he was capable of the hairdryer moment but nobody was made to feel diminished if they'd clearly tried hard but made a mistake. Trust is so important when a team is trying to play or perform above what others expect of them. 

Of course, fear is a powerful human emotional motivator.  And certainly fear is what has defined the COVID period. But even before the pandemic, fear is what has empowered extremists, reduced global collaboration, and promoted division. On top of this, the pandemic has also spread fear across borders, diminishing certainty while building walls and raising drawbridges. Understandably, our instinct is to defend and restrict, such is the human instinct for self-preservation. But it is backward thinking. 

Moving toward something as opposed to moving away from a perceived threat = progress in my view. Resisting something you are fearful of is regressing. It halts progress, reduces creativity and we then tend to fall into old behavior sets because it makes us feel safer. But in reality, we are merely treading water, trying to stay afloat and over time, we drift backward.

Sliding Down Maslow’s Hierarchy

It was back in the 1950s that Maslow laid out his theory of the hierarchy of needs. This model is widely accepted as the best method of categorizing human needs. Empowerment and self-actualization were at the apex, with food, security, and shelter (and these days fast and reliable wifi :) at the bottom. The first impact of the pandemic initially led developed society to temporarily slide down this hierarchy. Fear took over, security and shelter became paramount. The early days of the pandemic were somewhat apocalyptic in feeling. And now, as Omicron works its way through our populations at an even faster and faster rate, I think that we are still left with the residual impact of this trauma.

So regardless of these events that are beyond our control, how do we beat fear? 

Put simply, by being inspired by what we do, and by building our resilience. We build resilience by trying new things and living outside our comfort zone. 

Inspiration is our theme for 2022. Why? Because if it is fear that is driving our decisions, then this toxic emotion can lead to a whole bunch of problems.

I've said it before, fear triggers flight, fright, or freeze response. It's a basic survival instinct designed to protect us from physical threats to our safety. But in a non-physical scenario, it can lead to people behaving out of character. We often see the worst version of ourselves when we are fearful. We become susceptible to anger, and when we are angry we make our worst decisions!!

NO TO FOMO

Social media is a key factor in our lives, and some of it is good. But on the less good side, it has given more amplification to the FOMO response. FOMO is not a new phenomenon, but it probably has a greater or more obvious presence in our lives due to the misleading imagery we feel compelled to view on Instagram, Facebook etc. Everybody always seems thinner, fitter, wealthier, happier, more glamorous, more successful etc., etc., and it can lead us to feel less worthy.

If we boil this down to survivalist trigger emotions, it is through a fear of missing out (we have all been to events triggered by this only to wonder why we attended at all) or through a far more positive inspiration to play a role or to serve a purpose. The former often leaves us underserved by the experience while the latter, in my view, is far more likely to meet or even exceed expectations and then leave us feeling sated.

Fear is Passive, Inspiration is Active

FOMO is far more likely to place us in a passive place. Our expectations become unrealistic (we expect to be impressed and entertained). On the other hand, inspiration is Active (we play an active role in the experience) therefore our energy is pushing us forward as we are inspired, while fear of any kind just holds us back and places us in a less resourceful and negative state.

For football (or any sport), a defensive and therefore fearful football team may succeed at times, but their options are far more limited, while the enjoyment level for both players and spectators is low and stressful. An inspired team will be more entertaining, more popular and will be remembered fondly. An inspired team will always provide a sense of opportunity, options, and positivity and their story and style will inspire others. They will break new ground. If anyone needs evidence of this then check out the film! Clough inspired his football team to play entertaining and expansive football. This type of approach did not work for Clough at Leeds United because it was counter-culture, where he lasted a short time as their football style and culture was defensive and physical.

So it is pretty simple really. When looking ahead to 2022 of course we must remain adaptable, but in 2022 we should be looking to both inspire our customers and ourselves with our vision, our story, our commitment, and our optimism. 

This will get positive things done that will lead to growth.

Have a superb, and inspiring 2022!