With softball, despite
all the years waiting to have won a championship, each game was learning to be persistent
and to appreciate Growth. There is no measuring success by how the game is won;
it’s also every opportunity for improvement. Each game was a lesson to learn,
to improve, and to develop strength, things that extend far longer than the thrill
of winning a championship.
Waiting for the championship
win was not just waiting for the losses; waiting for knowing every swing, every
pitch, and every play was a chance to grow. It was at this time that we, as a team, focused on one game at a time that we were playing. It was not about winning the
championship; the focus was to win the game we were playing. Looking back, I realize
that each practice was not just a reaction to the previous loss or win it was a
promise of continued improvement.
Research in sports psychology
has shown that when athletes focus on themselves getting better and learning from
every experience, they create an attitude that helps them overcome obstacles on
and off the pitch.
Over the years, I have
learned that my experience in sports has taught me that success is not always determined
by the final score, as in life. The training, the honing of skills, and even the
losing are where the real growth takes place. Each practice session and each game
taught lessons that no trophy could ever contain. These lessons have shown me that
improvement is a series of small, incremental moves and every chance to do better
is a win in itself.
What’s wonderful about
being involved with any sport is that every competition, event or game is a page
in a larger book of personal and team development. When my teammates and I went
on the field, we were not playing to win; we were playing to play for each other.
When I coached, I used that same attitude to change the perception of competition
on the part of my players. Winning was not about the destination anymore, but about
the lessons we learned along the way, the effort put in, and the progress made with
every next game, with the victories being a bonus.
Ultimately, the measure
of success past victory and defeat is to embrace the process. It’s the understanding
that though victory is satisfying, the loveliness of sport lies in the daily toil
and the small victories that lead to step-by-step improvement. The game doesn’t
end with the final whistle; the real learning is embedded in every practice session,
every setback, and every forward step.
In expressing these ideas, I
hope to make you realize that the value of the journey is worth as much as the destination.
Success, in its truest form, is the sum of all the little improvements and the knowledge
that we acquire along the way, a philosophy that not only produces better athletes
but makes our lives better.
Originally Published on https://boomersnotsenior.blogspot.com/
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