When it comes to difficult tasks, there really is no middle ground. Most of the time we look at it as black or white. I am either going to dominate or fall flat on my face. Very rarely do we go into a challenge thinking, “eh, I will probably be middle of the pack here.” So how do we use that to our advantage? How can we eliminate the doubt and only see success coming at us?
Pitch for the fun of it.
I have been playing in an adult baseball league for the last few weeks and it has been an adjustment. My body did not forget how to do things, it just forgot how difficult it was to do them. My hitting has been a roller coaster and the infield play has been choppy. The other day I was asked to step up on the mound for the first time and throw two innings. I am not a pitcher, by trade, but I did it in high school. It turns out, pitching is the thing I was the most successful at.
I threw two scoreless innings and felt untouchable. In the box I felt like a mere mortal, but on the mound I was invincible. This was all in the mindset I took to both. In the box it feels like I have to prove myself. I need to get hits to show others, and myself, that I am great at it. The mound is a whole different story. I get on the mound and throw without remorse. I don’t NEED to do anything other than enjoy the moment. The pressure comes off when we can relax and have fun.
Make a game of it.
We tend to fortify pressure within ourselves in other areas of our lives too. When it comes to money, there is no gray area. People either feel consumed by it or act like it doesn’t exist. I was one of the people that felt consumed by it. I was always searching for the next paycheck and stressing out a lot. That is, until recently.
I began to shift my mindset into thinking about it like points in a video game. If I could get my savings account to a certain number of points, then I could reach “the next level”. I began to find that it was never really saving money that was the issue, but the mindset I had about it. I felt like I had no other choice, when in reality I was just afraid of failure. By turning financials into a game, I was able to relate to it better and achieve personal goals at a much faster rate!
There is always a choice.
Often, we feel like things are completely out of our control. Things happen TO us rather than us choosing to do them. The truth is, we always have a choice. It may not feel like it at the time, but we do. And if we don’t have a say in WHAT happens, we have a say in HOW we respond to it. The quicker we shift to “I am in control”, the easier it is to respond when things go wrong.
After all, life should be about happiness. If we can’t be happy with ourselves and our decisions, then what are we here for? Do what makes you happy, and eliminate the stress of “what will they think about me” and “what if I fail?” When you are in that mindset, you have a chance to TRULY be successful.
