The Boys of Summer???

In honor of the children’s game that has become big business for the boys of summer, I offer this vignette. When life throws a curve ball are you ahead of the delivery?  Do you miss badly, fooled by all of the gesticulations or mesmerized by the intensity of the pitcher? Or worse, distracted by the crowd or the desire to deliver an outcome beyond reasonable?

Anticipation can leave us wanting – reality failing to reach the lofty heights of expectations.  Do you consider a “do over”, fumbling for the rewind button vainly hoping for an opportunity for redemption?  If you are deep in the count better choke up for better bat control.  Step out of the box, regroup and marshal energy.  Remind yourself to calm; don’t allow nerves to run roughshod over reason.  You can self-champion or self-destruct.  You knew that?  I didn’t have to be obvious?  Many things in life are ‘obvious’ if we are open to the interrelationships.

Funny thing, regret; self-imposed, powerful and sometimes overwhelming.  Regret, the sludge that builds on the pistons, encouraging our mental/emotional engine to seize.

All is not lost.  Remember STP and the jingle, “STP is the racer’s edge”?  Play on words with a slight variation.  Well we can add STP to our mental/emotional engine.  It’s called Self-Taught Patience.  Sounds less than prophetic, not much of a ring to it.  Probably has no prospect of making Super Bowl commercial finalist. 

Haste can trigger reactions that are better tempered.  Patience, the virtue, becomes patience, the friend. 

While you are busy worrying about whether the next pitch will be a fastball, slider,  curve or another “phrase of the day” changeup, external forces are attempting to harness the prior success to put another one past you.

Don’t fall into the ‘guessing’ trap.  Dial up the focus – your intensity will help.  Wind the mental springs to the proper tension and prepare to unleash energy.  This will require you to process, think clearly and coordinate mental, emotion and physical for your response.

“Sounds more than complicated, sounds fantastical!” I know.  But it’s difficult - luck prevents it from being impossible – to succeed if you don’t understand your moving parts and how they interact.  Trust luck (but not exclusively) only if you are brave.  Pure luck, without effort towards influence, is folly and will generate odds that accrue to the house.  Luck, coupled with informed effort will tip the scales, increase the efficiency of the octane from your internal fuel.

Tune out the deafening roar; the urgency beyond necessary levels, take a deep breath and step back into the box.  Plant that back foot; take a few practice swings and as the pitcher is winding up, give him a knowing wink.  Blind him with confidence; drain his self-assurance, make his delivery ordinary and then wait on it and drive it for distance.

Striking the ball solidly triggers flashes of energy to course through you. I see the dashboard needle for your confidence tank rising… the victory lap around the bases begins; self-confidence multiplying.

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope to see you in New Hope.  Let’s chat, I would enjoy catching up on your life.

Love and hugs, Nikki DeCaro