At Molliteum, we're lucky because we work with lots of different athletes from all over the world, in all sorts of sports. This lets us see what the best athletes do well and what they don't. This way, we can use the good stuff in one sport to help in others, and avoid the mistakes.

Last week, I spent some time with an NFL player who's usually really good, but he was struggling. Let me paint a picture for you – this guy is tough. He didn't earn his reputation by being gentle. He's the type who likes getting dirty and dealing with hard stuff when others don't.

Basically, he's a big, strong guy who focuses on getting the job done.

But recently, I noticed he was worried about small things like how tight his shoes were or if his helmet felt just right, which wasn’t like him. I asked him what was going on. He told me his coach said he needs to pay attention to every little detail, and he thought that meant he had to be perfect. This was making things harder for him.

This brings us to this week's Molliteum Insider post.

What Sweating the Details Really Means

Focusing on details isn't about being perfect—nobody is perfect in sports. It's about doing everything with a clear purpose.

Here’s how to do it: Make sure there’s a reason behind everything you do, whether it’s training, eating, or practicing a skill. Yes, it's a lot of work to pay attention to every detail, but there’s a simple way to think about it:

Purpose x Intensity = Detail-Oriented

If you want to pay better attention to details, you need a reason for everything you do and you need to put effort into it. Having a reason means you know why you're doing what you're doing, like choosing a specific workout, eating certain foods, or going to bed at a particular time. Effort means how hard you work at it. Some days might need more effort than others.

If you keep focused on your reasons and put in the effort, everything you do will be more purposeful and detailed.

Why Perfectionism Will Never Work

Sports are unpredictable. Most of the time, things might go your way, but sometimes they won’t. If you try too hard to be perfect, you'll miss out on achieving what you can most of the time.

Being detail-oriented doesn’t always mean you’ll get the results you want every time, but it does mean your actions have a purpose and you put real effort into them.

Thanks for being with us at Molliteum.

Stay Resilient

There it is - purpose and intensity is everything…not perfectionism!

Now, if you are struggling with perfectionism - we’ve got you.

Consider applying for our one on one Difference Maker program for athletes - we take on 2 athletes max per month so long as we can help them.

It’s a 12-week fully immersive program where we give you a resilience profile, a customized program, 3 x monthly one on one coaching sessions, your own Molliteum Coach, 16-hour per day access to your Molliteum Coach, the Molliteum Pocket Coach, AND a blueprint for your parents.

If this sounds like something you need, then click here.

Stay resilient,

Matt Caldaroni

Co-founder, Molliteum