Lessons learned from the bleachers
As we come to the end of another little league baseball season, I have been reflecting on life lessons I notice from the bleachers. Here are 5 I hope stick with me.
We choose how we deal with high-pressure situations. Watching 11 year-old boys on the pitcher’s mound face their worst fears (multiple walks in a row, maxing out points for the other team) and keep going has been like watching one of those character-building montages in a movie, except it’s happening in real time. It’s nerve-wracking because I can’t step in and help. All I can do is encourage.
It’s not fun to throw 4 balls in a row and walk a batter. It’s not fun to be the last guy out in an inning. Those moments are tough and hurt. And in both real life and on the field, there is a choice to be made. Do we get held hostage by one bad moment? Or do we acknowledge it was hard and then choose to shift our focus to doing a little bit better next time?
Individual performance doesn’t guarantee a win. This week, one player on our team had two home runs in one game. ONE game. It was amazing. Yet, we were still narrowly defeated. It stinks when we do our best and still don’t get exactly what we hoped for. Then we have a choice: do we focus on the loss or on what we did well to repeat the next time around. We all know the “right” answer but knowing is different from choosing.
Sometimes you get a win despite your individual performance. At another game this week (3 games in one week!!), a player had a few bad plays. Our team still won. This reminds me of two things. 1. When we surround ourselves with a good team, we can withstand a few bad plays. Everybody messes up sometimes. 2. When your team wins, no one remembers bad plays (except you). You can stop beating yourself over them.
Your current failure or success is not a guarantee of future results. Stay humble. Keep learning. Every time a batter steps up to the plate, he has to prove (again) that he can hit a ball flying 40-60mph directly at him. His last home run or strike out is irrelevant. If we rest on our past successes, our pride can easily keep us from moving forward. And if we aren’t moving forward, soon we will be sliding backward. Getting better is the goal, not “winning.” To get better, humility is required. You have to admit to yourself that you have room to improve.
The people speaking into your life matter. Your coach’s words matter. Your teammates words matter. Words build us up and break us down. Sometimes we need a bit of both. But if we choose wise people to speak into our lives, we will reap the rewards. And vice versa.
Now to apply these lessons in my own life…..
