Video transcript:
Control what you can and understand what you can’t. I’ll say it again, control what you can and understand what you can’t. This is such a tough task in baseball because there is so much that is outside of our control. In my own career, this was the hardest lesson that I had to learn. You can’t control the wins and losses. You can’t control the weather. You can’t control what the other team does. You can’t control the umpire’s decisions, and you can’t control your stats or whether or not you even get a hit.
The list goes on and on and on, and while we don’t have control over these things, we do have influence in getting the results that we want on the field. We put ourselves in the best position for peak performance by focusing on what we can control. Our attitude. Are we showing up eager to complete and eager to get better? Or are we showing up timid and lackadaisical? Our preparation. Are we putting in the work outside of competition? Are we not putting in the work? Our effort. Are we going all out when we know we can or are we holding back? And our focus. Is our head in the game, on one pitch at a time? Our energy and attention is limited and valuable. When we spend them on things that we can’t control we’re wasting it. But when we direct it towards those things that we can control we’re giving ourselves the best chance to perform at our highest level.
So before your next game, make a note of everything in baseball that is outside of your control. Notice that your mind will tend to focus on these things and that’s okay. It’s going to happen. But, you have the choice to bring your focus back to what’s in your control. Your attitude, your preparation, your effort level, and your focus. Make that conscious choice.