Don’t miss this mind-blowing life lesson I learned watching my 10-year-old son’s baseball tournament

We can all admit that certain teams, people, businesses, circumstances make us feel a  certain way...frustrated, heavy-hearted, defeated and disappointed kind of ways. They evoke emotions that bring out the ugly in us that even the most seasoned fan, professional or EQ expert can’t resist.   

This last weekend was my son’s last baseball tournament in his 10-month season with his 10-and-under club team. My son, his teammates and his coaches have grown so much in the last year. The lows were low and the highs were high. They put their heads down, ground through the hard, and uncomfortable and celebrated the highs for as long as they could. 

Then they went into the final tournament of the season

Going into Sunday’s game, the boys had 3 wins and 0 losses and we were facing a team that had beaten them in the last inning at each of the last 2 tournaments. The opposing team's parents were unbearable, unruly. The coaches were no better, they were over the top and unreasonable. But that’s sports, right? There is always that team that just gets you, a rival, your nemesis, your Achilles heel. This was that team. Everything about them was infuriating. 

In bracket play during the last inning against this team, we were losing by a handful of runs. There were 2 outs and it was my son’s turn to bat.

We work so hard to prepare our kids for life

I was nervous! These moments are amazing when they go our way and CRUSHING when they do not. I wanted to protect him from failure, I wanted to save him from disappointment but this was the game, he was on his own and mommy couldn’t do a thing about it at that moment. 

My kids and I talk often about mindset and tools and strategies to overcome stress and allow ourselves to perform or problem solve. One of the things we have been working on is our breath, in hard or stressful situations. Our breath is the beginning and the end of everything, including big moments! Our breath can reset our nervous system, slow down our fight or flight hormones, and calm our thoughts. 

I watched Eastin take a deep breath and walk over to the batter's box. He was doing his best to set himself up for success. I could see him using his tools as best as he could. 

Something you should know about Eastin craves and desires to be the go-to guy. He loves Joko Wilinik and has read all of his Way of the Warrior kids books. He studies history and loves the military because of heroes like Pat Tillman. Leaders who go into battle and are willing to sacrifice it all for the cause. 

He has his own 10-year-old cause: baseball. And he takes that cause seriously! 

Eastin’s 3rd base coach knew this about my guy and instinctively knew the pressure this 10-year-old boy was putting on himself at that moment! 

Before Eastin went up to bat, his third base coach called a time out, pulled Eastin over, grabbed him by the helmet to make sure he could really hear what was being said, looked him straight in the eye, and told him “There is nobody else I would want at the plate at this moment. You're my guy, win or lose, hit or strikeout. I believe in you and whatever the outcome is we will see them again tomorrow. Regardless of what happens in this at-bat you are good!”

Then, we have to let them go out and do while we hold our breath watching from the sidelines

E went up to bat and...he struck out. 

Game over, the other team won and we took the 2nd place seed for the next day. 

Many times throughout the season, I have watched Eastin crumble. I watched the weight of the moment squash him. It was heart-wrenching and hard to watch every single time it happened.

But not this time. He didn’t beat himself up. He wasn’t defeated, he wasn’t crushed. 

He walked away from that strikeout in a way I haven’t seen him do before. It was a disappointment, but not a defeat. 

Why? 

Why was this time different?

Because his coach had his back and told him, YOU ARE NOT YOUR AT-BATS. YOU ARE NOT YOUR FAILURES OR MISTAKES OR MISSED OPPORTUNITIES. You are worthy of wearing the jersey no matter the outcome of this at-bat and tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities. 

That mindset work makes a huge difference

OH MY GAH!!! 

MAMA. FRIEND, imagine if that’s how we lived our lives out as adults, as mamas as wives and entrepreneurs! 

No matter the outcome you are worthy of all the good things in life. Of love, joy, confidence, pleasures and success!

How much more present would we allow ourselves to be? How many more risks would we allow ourselves to take? 

Eastin’s coach could have shared these words with him after he struck out but he took the time to tell him before the mistake, before the failure, before the disappointment. 

This infused confidence into Eastin and allowed him to know and experience his worth -- even in failure! I am certain this allowed him to show up the next day and give it another go! 

We always get the opportunity to do better

The next day, the boys played in a semi-final game as the number 2 seed of our bracket, and these boys showed up to play and beat the number 1 team from the other bracket to advance to the finals. 

AND GUESS WHO WE WOULD FACE? 

Yup, you guessed it, they would face the team they lost to the day before and the team Eastin struck out against to end the game. 

They got a rematch and Eastin’s team battled. 

They made errors and they made great plays. The game was intense, the boys worked, they showed up, they took risks, they had each other’s backs, they didn’t cower at the challenge of beating a team that had beaten them the last 3 times. 

Eastin faced the same pitcher that struck him out just one day before. He took his breath and settled into the batter's box. Eastin hit a single that brought in 2 runs for his team! 

As fate would have it, they would come out on top this time! 

They won the tournament and slayed the dragon that beat them the day before! 

The mind-blowing lesson I learned

Imagine if you had someone who had your back and breathed belief and confidence into you! How would you slay your dragons? How would you show up?

My guess is that you would overcome more than your heart could imagine! 

My guess is that you have a dragon that needs to be slayed and you need a support system from a coach, a mentor, a guide, a teacher to have your back so you can slay it.

I want to encourage you to find that coach, mentor, guide, to help you. 

You are worthy of asking for help. You are worthy of spending money to get where you want to go. You are worthy of your dreams and goals. Stop getting in your own way. Stop trying to muscle your way through. Stop beating yourself up because you don’t know all the answers or the path. Believe in yourself. Ask for help.

It’s amazing what kind of results you’ll see when you have someone who believes in you. It’s amazing what you will learn and understand about yourself on the journey and we all need just a little belief in ourselves along the way!

If you want a coach/cheerleader/friend to help you achieve your weight loss or health goals, then I would like to volunteer to be that person for you. Let's chat about what your goals are and how we can reach them together.

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