June 27, 2006

 

 

Go Ahead and Swing

 

How does St. Louis Cardinals baseball slugger Albert Pujols keep on slugging, day after day?  Recently, the Cardinals manager said: “He (Pujols) wasn’t thinking about winning the game.  He wasn’t thinking about the magnitude of the moment.  He wasn’t listening to the sound of the crowd or the buzz in the stadium.  All that stuff is background noise to him.  It’s all muffled.  He can’t hear it.  All he cares about, all he’s thinking about is one pitch.”

 

Albert himself says “Really, that’s all there is to it.  One pitch at a time.  Wait for it, swing at it.  That’s all you can do.”

 

Albert’s batting prowess can teach you a lot about what you can do to achieve success in your own playing field.

1. You must focus.  Tune out the roar of the crowd, the voices in your head saying you can’t do it, and all the distractions that keep you from the moment.  Stop your mind from wandering to your worries, to your to-do list, and to all the trials and tribulations in your life.  Albert’s “world is no larger than (the space between his hands).”  How large is your world when you come up to bat?
2. You must expect success when you step into the batter’s box.  Albert does; he knows he is going to get a good swing on the ball.  “If I get a good swing, that’s all you can ask.”    The more good swings he takes, the more success he expects to have.  Get yourself into the mindset of success in your life and you will attract more.
3. You must not be afraid of failure.  Not every at bat leads to a home run, but that doesn’t stop Albert from stepping up to the plate every game.  Life does knock you off the balance beam.  Learn from your failures, and get back on because success is just around the corner and you don’t want to miss it.   
4. Stay focused on this moment, not yesterday and not tomorrow.  You can’t change the strike-outs you had yesterday nor can you hurry up tomorrow so take advantage of today.  It’s time to swing the bat now. 
5. Believe in yourself.  Remove all traces of “I can’t” from your life.  Visualize that home run!
6. Make daily batting practice part of your life.  Practice might not make perfect, but it will increase your likelihood of becoming a winner.
7. Do not buckle under pressure and give up.  Winners dig deep and give it all they’ve got.
8. Enjoy the game.  Savor every pitch.  Life only comes around once and then you retire. 

 

Albert Pujols is a legend inSt. Louisand in baseball.  You too can be a legend in your own right as you step up to the plate of life.  Go ahead and swing.  You’ve got everything to gain.

 

Quotes from: “What Makes Pujols great? ‘Extraordinary’ is his ‘routine’” by Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

 

 

 

“My motto has always been to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.”
          Hank Aaron

 

"Everyday is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is. With a new game every day. And that's the way baseball is."
          Bob Feller, Indians Pitcher (1936-1956)

 

“Baseball is 90% physical - the other half is mental.”
          Yogi Berra

 

“During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.”

           Mickey Mantle

 

 

I’m not a die-hard baseball fan, but I can recognize success in the field.  When life is the playing field you have to step up to the plate, take your stance, and swing.  Not much happens when you just stand there.  Oh sure, you can walk with 4 balls – that doesn’t take much effort, or, you can get hit by a pitch – that will knock you off the beam.  But, the swing is still crucial to living a fulfilling life. Dig your heels in and swing at the opportunities that come your way.  Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but you will never know which until you connect with the ball.

 

It’s usually been my insecurities that kept me from swinging.  The fear of failure, worrying about tomorrow, not expecting success, and the often used phrase, “I can’t”.  Those insecurities sure took the fun out of playing the game.  But, time is flying by and I don’t want the game to end, so I’ve been stepping up to the plate and swinging.  I’m not sure if the ball will follow the path I’ve intended, but I am ready for whichever path it does take.  That’s LIFE!

 

Have a fantastic week and step up to the plate and swing!

 

Stephanie

                                               

            www.7steps2abalancedlife.com

            drszh@7steps2abalancedlife.com

             

          P.S. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and colleagues, in its entirety.

           

 

            © 2006 Stephanie Houseman, DMD

 

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