Last night my brother and I caught an Angels game. Growing up in Orange County, I was always an Angel fan until I moved to USC and got to go to a Dodgers Game. Of course, now, having worked for the team, I’m a huge Dodgers fan, but it was still great to catch a Halos game like old times with my brother. Before the game, I have to admit, yesterday was not a fun day. It was one of those days where anything and everything seemed to go wrong. I won’t get into details, but I felt like I was on a sinking ship in the middle of a storm. I was frustrated and fed up. As I sat and watched the game, I realized how similar “life” is to a sports game and, in this case, baseball.

Everyday, we’re given a chance to go up to bat. Just by showing up, we’re saying we’re ready to play and let the day gives us what it’s got. Sometimes we’re thrown curve balls or strikes thrown right up the middle, just being handed to us, but we’ll still swing in miss. When we finally hit the ball, it may still be a pop-fly or we’re thrown out at first. The reality is that it’s pretty difficult to get onto base. We have to consistently show up and give it our all everyday to try to get on. And even then, not every hit is home-run, a triple, a double or even a single. And that’s just how life is–for all of us, even the best players in the world. Sometimes, we hit the ball in the sweet spot and we just know we’re knocking it out of the park and other times, man it’s tough to get on base, but a single is good enough to get us by and keep us playing in the game.

It’s important on tough days, like the one I had yesterday, to remember an analogy like this or one that may work better for you. The point to remember though is to be cognizant and aware of the fact that just like in sports, we must show up ready to play, but know that as much as we want to hit a home run everyday, statistically and realistically, it’s not possible. We must show up, step up to the plate, be mentally ready for anything thrown at us and swing when we see a good opportunity. The more you do it, the better chances you have of hitting. So stay in this game of life. Don’t give up when you’re going through a rut and can’t seem to hit a ball. Keep working hard and when the timing is just right, you’ll hit and you’ll hit it out of the park!

xoxo