.svg)
As someone who has been a professional athlete for 15 years now, I have learned A TON of valuable lessons along the way. Many of these lessons were learned the hard way, and I wish I had someone to teach them to me when I was a younger athlete. It would have saved me a lot of pain, frustration and failure if I had someone instill these valuable skills in me. If you are an athlete, coach or someone looking to improve your life, legacy, and/or performance, take these 10 lessons and apply them to your life.
SEPARATE YOUR IDENTITY FROM YOUR PERFORMANCE
Performance based identity can be a subtle yet dangerous part of an athlete or coaches downfall. Most people have no idea they have constructed their identity around their performance, as it usually builds slowly over time in their subconscious minds. Asstudents, we receive a grade on a test or paper that we have written. We are not graded based on effort or how much we have learned or grown, but rather based on our “performance” on the “test”. As we began to play sports, people clapped for us when we performed well and were often silent when we played poorly. These are just a couple of examples of how performance based identities begin.
When we perform well, in the classroom or during our sport, we feel good about ourselves. When we get a bad grade on a test, make an error to blow the game or miss the game winning shot, we usually feel bad about ourselves. Some people ride this rollercoaster of highs and lows more than others, but we all have fallen into the trap many times before. And for me, and many others playing baseball, the rollercoaster ride can be extremely overwhelming and suck the life out of you.
So how do we get off the roller coaster ride?
Each of us needs to understand who we are and why we were created. For me, I know that I am a child of God and unconditionally loved and accepted by Him. Regardless of my performance, if I am truly living into and believing this identity, then I am full of peace.It doesn’t mean I am satisfied with the results if I play poorly or lose a game, but I am able to be strong and steady in my mind. It allows me to attack the necessaryadjustments, overcome obstacles and compete with freedom.
HAVE A PURPOSE THAT IS ABOVE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES AND IS OTHERS-CENTEREDIf my purpose is all about baseball and success and achievement, what do I do in a season like 2022 where I got injured and couldn’t play? I ended up having shoulder surgery in June, ankle surgery in August and missed the last 4 months of the season. If my purpose was solely in baseball and performance I would not be able to fulfill it in these difficult seasons. If instead my purpose is “To help others maximize their potential and point them to Jesus”, then I can still wake up everyday and fulfill my life’s purpose no matter what my circumstances are.
CREATE EXCELLENT ROUTINES
Routines are so crucial! They create structure and stability. Good routines help us to be as prepared as possible, and good preparation is where we derive our confidence from. When I am fully prepared mentally and physically for a game, I go into it confident, believing I will succeed. Routines also allow us a means in which to focus on the process and the things that are controllable, rather than the results. In life and especially in a sport like baseball, we have to deal with failure often. Having a rock solid routine allowsme to stay anchored mentally and lean into the things I can control when the results areoften uncontrollable.
RELATIONSHIPS ARE WHAT MATTER MOST
As some of my former teammates have retired and phased into new chapters of life, there is always a common theme in what they miss the most. Without hesitation, almost every single retired pro athlete says they miss the relationships with their teammates andbeing in the locker room with the guys. When answering this question, no one says theymiss “the grind” or highs and lows that come along with playing at the highest level. So, ifyou know what people end up missing the most when things inevitably change, why notfocus on that now? No matter where you are - school, work, home - focus on buildingincredible relationships that will last far beyond the current season of life that you are in.
LEARN HOW TO REFRAME "FAILURE"
Failure is only failure if you don’t learn from it and grow to become a better version of yourself. My favorite Bible verse is James 1:2-4, and it says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Failure isn’t final. God knows thatand wants us to step into this mindset. Not only is failure not final but God says he wants us to experience it with “pure joy”. This is super counter cultural, but I’ve come to understand why God commands us to live with this mindset. God is more concerned with our character than our circumstances. He wants us to grow into mature people that can persevere with strong faith. The next time you fall flat on your face in failure, stop and ask yourself “What can I learn and where is the opportunity to get better?”.
HAVE MORE FUN
When I was in high school I was focused on getting to college. When I first got to college I was focused on getting drafted. When I got drafted I was so focused on moving up to the next minor league level. When I got to AAA I was so focused on getting to the Big Leagues. When I first got to the Big Leagues I was so focused on staying there. You get the point. My focus on accomplishing my goals has propelled me to a great career but along the way I’ve realized that I could have had way more fun. I firmly believe there can be a healthy balance. Setting and accomplishing goals and finding joy in the journey. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. I have intentionally tried to slow down a little bit each day, be grateful for where I am, and laugh more with my teammates. I also firmly believeperformance will improve if you enjoy what you are doing each day. Great fun and enjoyment lie in the daily and mundane routines with people that you love. Something specific that I have started to adopt is to hang out in the batting cage for a few minutes after I hit. Instead of rushing off to the next thing, I’ve tried to create time each day to sit and watch my teammates hit and laugh with the guys while busting each other for a few minutes. When you enjoy coming to work each day, you will be more likely to succeed as well!
TAKE THE BLINDERS OFF
I spent most of the first part of my career with blinders on. When racing horses race, they wear blinders so they cannot see anything except what is right in front of them. These are great for competition but terrible for building great relationships with teammates and others throughout the season. I was on such a mission to achieve that I neglected creating deep, meaningful relationships. The second half of my career has been and will be much different. I am prioritizing people and creating deep bonds with them on and off the field. It is much more rewarding and enjoyable to have others to share all of the ups and downs of my career and life with.
SWEEP THE SHEDS
One of the greatest sports teams of all time is the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team. They call their locker rooms the sheds. The veterans and captains of the team have a mantra that they live by called “Sweep The Sheds”. This means that the best and oldest players on the team take it upon themselves to sweep the sheds. Literally and metaphorically. They clean their locker room themselves, making sure that they do the little things and create an environment of attention to detail. They lead by example and do everything with the utmost detail and level of care off the field, so that when they get on the field those same principles apply. So whether you are at work, school, in the locker room or at home, we can all do a better job of “sweeping our sheds”.
OWN YOUR MISTAKES
Too often when making mistakes, young athletes tend to blame others instead of owning it. The umpire made a bad call, I lost the ball in the sun, the grass was too wet, my arm hurt, etc. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes on and off the field. Own your mistakes with full and complete ownership. No blame-casting or excuse-making. People will respect you more and extend you more grace if you own your mistakes.
EMBRACE THE EMOTION
As a young athlete, I always played with tremendous passion, energy and enthusiasm. I left it all out there on the field or court holding nothing back. But as I got further into the professional baseball culture as a young big leaguer, I was taught to hide my emotionsand be stoic out on the field. Although I do value the ability to be even-keeled over the course of a 162 game season, I also think there is tremendous value in playing with emotion. Passion and enthusiasm bring out your best performances and carry you through the difficult times when success is hard to come by. Emotion and energy can also remove you from a mindset where you are fearful of making a mistake. Emotion can drive you to dive fully into the moment and immerse yourself more often into your flow state. Looking back, I wish I was less of a robot early on in my career and let my emotion and passion out more often.
When I am fully living out these key principles, I am excelling and thriving on and off the field. It took me a long time to learn them, but there’s no going back now! I encourage you today to learn from my mistakes and adopt these lessons to make them part of your life.
