My son plays baseball.
I have started many blogs I’ve written about life and work with that sentence. Using his baseball as a metaphor for life.
So, my son plays baseball. Lately, his team has been struggling with losses. Well, they aren’t really ‘struggling’ with losses, they are managing to succeed at losing quite well. Lot’s of errors on the field, dropped balls, strike outs. Basically, just poor playing.
There is a faction of the parents that have petitioned the coaches to drop down to a lower division than the one in which we play–according to them, in order to boost morale and get the boys pumped up, they really need to experience wins. They need to know what its like to take home the trophy.
And, this is why you NEVER go with your first gut reaction as a parent.
My first reaction was, “Well, that does sound like a good idea.” These boys walk off that field with their heads hanging. My son tells me ‘he hates losing’ after every game. I feel for him. I want to make it better for him.
Then the realization that baseball actually IS a metaphor for life slapped me in the face.
The Benefits of Hard Work
What am I teaching my child about life by allowing him to drop down to an easier level, than to start at the beginning of the harder level and work his way up through determination and perseverance? Through setting a goal and working toward it?
In life, do we all get a trophy for showing up?
“Amy has done a horrible job today, but she did show up. Pay her anyway!” NO. Chances are that as a boss, an employee or even as the business owner, you would point out my deficiencies (and I would hope it would be done nicely).
And I would use it as a wake up call to get myself back to the level that I know I am capable of. I can assure you no one would tell me, “Amy, you seem to be doing a really bad job lately. Why don’t you just go take over as the receptionist because that is a much easier job. And, when you get your confidence back up, come on back to this one.”
If I didn’t get fired, I would need to work harder. Develop a goal and keep focused on that goal. Create a path to get to that goal, and then work hard, practice, persevere.
I know that I am not going to hit a home run every time. I know that there will be losses along the way. But recovering from failure is the most important life lesson of all. You can’t let failure keep you down.
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