By Ethan Guevin
Have you ever heard an MLB analyst talk about a player having “a great second half” or being “red hot since the All-Star break”? It’s in our nature to break things into more understandable/manageable parts or pick certain dates that serve as important markers. In reality, the dates are relatively arbitrary. For example, at the end of the MLB season when calculating wins and losses, batting average, ERA, etc. do games 81-162 carry any more importance than games 20-101 or games 40-121? No! So why wait for dates/markers set by others to turn the page when you or your teammates are struggling? Don’t. Today’s article discusses how to take ownership over your season by being proactive in ending personal or team slumps.
We’ve all been there. You or your teammates are struggling and underachieving and everyone knows it. The harder your try, the worse it gets and things start to snowball. At the first sign of trouble, all of your recent failures come to the surface and you think, “here we go again.” So, you start playing defensive, afraid to make a mistake, and as a result, you do make mistakes. You wish there was a reset button and you just can’t wait for a little break to catch your breath and reset. It may be a weekend with no games, spring break, or maybe you think you will break out at the start of your conference schedule. You are looking to the future for help, but why wait?
When the struggles pile up, we suggest a “take the best, leave the rest” mentality. We are not suggesting you don’t learn from past mistakes, but we are suggesting you wipe the slate clean NOW. The past has little bearing on the future, unless you let it. What we are suggesting here is that you literally think of starting over– think of today as the first day of the new season. Your batting average, fielding percentage, team record, etc. are all starting new from TODAY forward. If you do this on your own terms, chances are the most important games are still in front of you and there is time to save your and/or your team’s season.
You will be surprised by how much relief you/your team can get from a simple change in thought process and letting go of the past. Don’t wait for the midway point or all-star break to reset and start with a blank slate, do it now. You can’t change the past, so focus on what matters– the future. The first day of the rest of your season starts now– good luck on your new opening day!
