Curveballs
Friday, March 19, 2010 at 09:27AM I like baseball. I always have, even though when I tried out for Little League when I was 8 years old, I quickly found out I totally suck at playing it. When you're 8 years old and weigh 160 pounds, combined with the fact that I'm not a naturally-gifted athlete...well, you can about imagine how that went. Let's just say my baseball career may be one of the shortest on record, ever!
Anyhow, I still love the game and usually take in several minor league games each summer. I've managed to make it to Florida for spring training once, and of course, I have taken in a couple of Tigers games too (don't get me started about the expense, though). This time of year, in particular, I tend to really think a lot about baseball, since spring training is underway, and games will be starting soon.
Last night, I came up with a totally corny quote related to baseball. If you follow me on Facebook, you've seen this already, and I suspect that some famous baseball great may have said it or something like it at some point in their life. However, it was a reflection of where I'm at in life currently, so for what it's worth, here it is...
"Life has a funny way of throwing you some really nasty curveballs. How you choose to swing is the difference between a strike or a homerun."
So what is a curveball exactly, and how does this metaphor apply to life, health, weightloss, etc.? Well, for those of you that may be baseball-ignorant, a curveball is a pitch that has a downward spin causing it to "drop" when it enters the strikezone. Batters can be fooled and swing, missing the ball as it drops. Really talented pitchers can alter this in an opposite fashion - the ball enters the strikezone appearing to be a "ball" (don't swing) and at the last second, aligns perfectly and crosses as a strike. Either way, the batter is "fooled" and the ensuing result is usually a strike - either from the batter swinging and missing, or from the batter NOT swinging as the ball crosses perfectly in the strikezone.
I guess I probably don't need to do much metaphorical analysis here, then, because you can probably make the connection on your own based on this information. Sometimes life seems to be moving along in a straight line - things are going well, and then WHAM! Out of nowhere, we're broadsided by some kind of major disruptive challenge. On the flip side, sometimes life seems to be a mess, but if we hang in there and don't lose hope, things usually "align" in the end.
OK, so I'm being a bit "wax philosophical" on you here. My apologies. What I'm trying to convey (in my typical much-too-wordy fashion) is that how we deal with life's curveballs is a great barometer on whether we will be successful in conquering challenges or be a failure. I confess, many of life's curveballs have resulted in failure on my part. Of course, I've had my share of successes too. The bottom line, and this is my MAIN POINT (how many words did it take me to get here?) is that if we don't at least "swing" at those curveballs and swing to the best of our ability, we have no hope of success or failure. You can't succeed or fail if you never try.
So what curveballs are coming your way currently. I have several currently - coming from all directions, it seems, so I need at least a dozen bats! lol. Seriously, when it comes to reaching your goals or dreams in life - whether that be weight loss, fitness, finding gainful employment, finding a life partner, whatever it is - SWING to the best of your ability. Yes, you may strike out, or maybe you'll miss a couple of times, but eventually, you're going to hit that homerun.
It took me more than a decade of my adult life before I decided to "swing" and do something about my weight and health. I feared failure. That's normal. But, I succeeded, and I know you can too. Get out there and swing!
