When I was a kid I used to play baseball, and when I say used to play baseball I mean I was the kid they put in left field because they knew nobody would hit it there. I was the kid they taught to bunt, because that would give me the best odds of getting on base. It was fun though. I loved being a part of the team.
One day, after striking out 3 times in a row my dad gave me some advice. He told me to visualize hitting the ball. Not just hitting the ball, but hitting the ball so hard it was the game winning homerun. He told me to feel the bat in my hands as I would step up to the plate, feel the weight of the bat as it swung through the air, hear the crack of the bat as it connected with the ball, and watch the ball fly out of the park.
That’s what I did. In school. At the grocery store. In the car. Everywhere I went I was visualizing myself hitting the ball. And every time I stepped up to the plate I struck out. I got on base more times being hit by a pitch than hitting the ball. But then there was that one game. That game where everything clicked. It was a tournament game. It wasn’t a game winning situation, but in the 3rd inning I stepped up to the plate. I was visualizing myself smacking the ball out of the park. Then it happened. I connected with the first pitch into left-center field and had my first and only double ever. It was one pitch that I still remember to this day. It was an amazing feeling.
I’ve tried to apply this philosophy to other areas of my life. It’s easy to focus on the negative things that might happen in a presentation, a sales pitch, or a big meeting. It’s easy to plan out all the ways that you could fail. Sometimes I find myself getting sucked down the “what if” rabbit hole. What if the internet doesn’t work? What if they laugh at me? What if it’s so bad I get fired, and we lose the house, and the kids hate me forever for failing at my job… It can easily spiral out of control.
But what if you switched it up. What if you repeated a mantra in your mind of all of the ways you can succeed? I think deep down we all want to be the hero in our own stories. We want to be the absolute best there ever was in our field. That’s what I do every day. When I walk through the doors of my school I tell myself that someday I’m going to be selected as teacher of the year. I’ve said that every day for the past 11 years. Does it bother me that it hasn’t happened yet. Nope. It’s that goal that I may attain someday, but it keeps me wanting to be the absolute best teacher there ever was.
I’m currently sitting in an airport getting read to fly out to Philadelphia to present at the International Society for Technology in Education conference. I’m giving two presentations and for each one I have visualized the amazing best case scenario. One of them I get a standing ovation, and people come up to me afterward and tell me how this speech touched their heart. In the other one I have a line of attendees asking me questions, and excited to get my input on how to best utilize the tools I shared.
Sometimes it seems selfish and self-serving to imagine that I could be the absolute best at something. Part of me knows that there will always be someone better out there. I’m ok with that. The goal isn’t to be perfect. The goal is to be the absolute best version of me.
Focus on the absolute best case scenario. As the saying goes, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.” I’m wishing you moondust and starlight in your future. Have a great week!
