Defining Success

In baseball and in life we sometimes have a tendency to judge ourselves by everyone else’s definition of success and rarely our own. We push and strive to get better and achieve a certain level of success and many times we have no idea what success really is. Especially in sports we have a tendency to judge our success based on what the general population considers to be a successful athlete. Getting the D1 scholarship, getting drafted, playing at the major league level, all these things are generally the standard by which we judge the ability of our athletes. The problem is these things may not be right for everyone. Not everyone will be happy at the big D1 school, some guys go to schools because they’re D1 but they are located in some pretty undesirable places to live. Maybe you’d be happy at a small school. Maybe there is a D3 or NAIA school somewhere that offers you playing time, a good education, and a great experience. The point is that we need to understand what it is we truly want and what we define as success.

The same can be said about our performance on the field. It’s easy to judge our performance based on how many hits we get or our stats at the end of the year. But that is using outside influences to dictate if we are successful or not. The problem with that is 1) these are things that are beyond our control and 2) not everyone is at the same place in their career. Maybe hitting .300 is easy for you and you are able to do that year in and year out. Assuming that this means you’re successful is limiting the amount of overall success you could potentially have. If you’re a player who doesn’t hit .300 consistently and you base you’re success on hitting .300 you are limiting yourself as well since you will consistently feel like you’ve failed which won’t allow you to make the adjustments necessary to improve.

In every situation you encounter you need to first define what success is for you. This definition needs to be based on things that you can control. If you’re working on a particular adjustment in your swing you could base your success in that at-bat on wether or not you were able to execute that adjustment. Whatever you decide I encourage you to take the time to really define what success means for you. This will allow you to consistently improve and allow you to become a better player then you ever could imagine. In addition you will be able to recognize when you are successful and that will be based on your definition and not that of others.

Perceptions Shape Performance

I’ve written about this before but it’s something that’s been on my mind lately. Our performance is dictated by the way we perceive the different situations that arise in a game. Why is it some players perform with the game on the line while others consistently come up short? Why is it you might be able to hit well with the bases empty but with runners on you aren’t able to come through? Why is it some players bounce back from adversity quicker and easier then other players do? Quite simply, each player perceives situations and events differently. The trick is to recognize which perceptions are limiting you and then changing your perception to one that empowers you to succeed. When you strike out do you see that as something bad? Or, can you change that perception to see that strikeout as an opportunity to learn about the pitcher you’re facing? How do you perceive pressure situations? Do you see the situation as a fun, exciting opportunity or do you see it as a stressful situation where if you don’t succeed you’ll let the team down? Whatever situation arises you must understand that how you perceive the situation will dictate your ability to perform. If you understand that the mind controls the body, and you understand that in order to perform that you must put your mind in the best possible position to allow your body to execute mechanics then you’ll do whatever you can to make sure that you are not limiting what you’re capable of by perceiving situations negatively.

So how do we do this? It all goes back to the questions you ask yourself in your head. When you strikeout and you ask yourself, “What did I do wrong?” You are putting yourself in a disempowering state. You are replaying negative events in your mind making it more likely for those events to repeat themselves. Instead change the questions you ask by asking, “What can I learn from that at-bat?” “What adjustments can I make?” Doing so will change how you feel about the event and ultimately change your perception and change your performance. When you come up with the game winning run on secondbase and two outs in the ninth inning just change your perception. Instead of seeing it as a stressful, pressure packed, all on your shoulders situation, look at it from a positive stand point. Tell yourself that getting the game winning hit will be fun and that these are the situations you live for and the reason you play the game. What you’ll notice is the pressure is reduced, you’re able to enjoy the situation more, freeing your mind to perform.