More On Mindset....

Tonight we had a solid win against Elizabethton.  The same team who put up a 7 spot on us in the game yesterday.  You guys at home are getting these blogs on tape delay...LOL.  I am writing these as though they are being published daily even though they are not.  So if you actually care and start following the Johnson City Cardinals, I apologize for confusing you!!!

Anyhow...tonight we won a 6-4 game.  We pitched decently the entire evening and did some things better tonight then the night before.  A couple times we did better with not paying attention to the umpire and using the next pitch in the sequence that we wanted to use.  We also did a bit better at not paying attention to how bad or good the umpire was at any given point in the game.

But I wanted to add some more thoughts to my Umpires Don't Exist blog.  I wanted to expand some more on the idea of mindset and how important that truly is.  Now I can easily call mindset by other terms such as perspective or perception so please don't get caught up in logistics.  This topic really plays off of the Law of Attraction series I have started and actually still need to finish, but if you are at all curious you can go back and read them after finishing this blog.

So let's get to it...ok so the last blog I talked about how a pitcher was stuck on how an umpire was making bad calls on balls and strikes.  And I talked about how I felt he let those bad calls basically ruin his outing and put him in a state of mind where he was no longer effective and able to compete.  My whole point in the topic of mindset or perspective is that the better your mindset is or perspective is, the more successful you will be.  Absolutely, no doubt about it!!!

Let's look at it two ways.  You are pitching in a game.  The game is close.  The umpire is not consistent with his strike zone.  He is calling balls where you feel they should be strikes.  What do you do???  How is your mindset???  Do you look at the experience as a way to become a victim and make excuses of why you are not able to compete?  Or do you not even respond to the umpire's calls because you are so focused on the next pitch you don't even respond with a thought of "I can't." 

You see, in the game of baseball, you can actually create your outings.  You can create how you are going to pitch, how you are going to respond and how your game is going to end up.  The reason why people make it to the big leagues and thrive is because their mindset is automatically set to succeed.  They don't listen to excuses, they don't make excuses, they don't blame anyone else for their tough days and they certainly don't give up or give in when outside circumstances may make it a bit tougher for them. 

If you are in a baseball game and an umpire doesn't give you calls you feel you deserve and instantly your reaction or habit of thought takes you towards the road of being a victim or making excuses or it enables you to compete, then guess what, you will never be the pitcher you want to be.  But if you can be aware of how you think or react to adversity when you are on the mound then you can start working towards the mindset and perspective you need to be a successful pitcher, a big league pitcher. 

As you get better and better in becoming non-reactive to adverse situations and you are becoming better and better at immediately focusing on solutions instead of problems, the momentum builds and you actually breed yourself into success.  The mindset becomes a feeling place and it follows you wherever you go. 

Have you ever been in a game and FELT so confident you knew good things were going to happen?  Have you ever been in a game and you FELT scared or worried and you were not sure what was going to happen next?  Well, what happened in those two situations????  In my brief professional career I knew exactly when I was going to have a solid outing and when I was in serious trouble. 

The mindset you have and create in your career will absolutely create your outings and your career so please start to think about how you feel and think when you are on the mound and competing. 

Ok, all for now....Happy Pitching!!!!