The Whole Thing

What would it be like if you were publicly judged each day by your performance in areas of your life? How would you react to online stories of your successes, failures, and mediocre moments?

I've seen that happening with one of my current favorite New York Mets players, David Wright. Last year it was discovered that he has a back issue which he will have to battle for the rest of his career. It has obviously caused some limitations with his game and he is having to work diligently to continue to be able to play. As a professional athlete playing in New York City, he is obviously subject to a high level of scrutiny. Even so, I found it interesting to see the headlines for the first two games of this new season.

After a less than stellar performance in the opening game of the season, writers were penning articles about how the game has passed him by and that there weren't many adjustments he was going to make. One of the articles even suggested this was as good as he was going to get and Mets fans needed to prepare for this to continue. Two days later after a much better showing, journalists were writing about his ability to still play and how his talent will carry him forward. I found it rather humorous how his career demise was only separated from a potential Hall of Fame career path by one game.

It's difficult when we are characterized by only one day in our life. The truth is that neither our best day nor our worst day really define who we are. We are the sum of all our good and bad days and they add up to a something that is a more accurate representation of who we truly are than just one moment. I'm just grateful every day of my life isn't dissected in the court of public opinion.

Looking Ahead

"Some days you don't feel like going in that weight room, but you have to remind yourself where you want to be once you do get back up there,"
Zack Wheeler, NY Mets pitcher recovering from Tommy John surgery.


Zack Wheeler wants to pitch and be part of the dynamic Mets staff. As a fan, I want him back out there too because he makes the team better overall. I also appreciate how he practices discipline while keeping his eyes focused on his goal. He obviously doesn't just want to return to the mound, but wants to be successful once he gets there. Zack has a vision for where he wants to go and how he wants to perform once his opportunity arrives.

I need those reminders for myself. I believe I have a vision for where I want to go and need to use each day as preparation for future opportunities. We can each have this focus for the different areas of our lives--family, personal growth, career, and our spiritual journey. Realizing the work we put in today will affect us in the future gives more meaning to the present even as we anticipate fulfilling our vision.

More Than Apparel

The hat pictured here has been my favorite Mets hat for close to 15 years. I bought it at a spring training game because it was unlike any I had seen before. In the years I have owned it I have looked for similar hats and haven’t been able to find one that was just right. Sadly, the time has arrived to say goodbye to this weathered piece of Mets headgear. There are holes in the top of it and the years of travel, sweat, and weather elements have taken its toll.

I realize it is just a hat and the memories gained while wearing it are most important. It has still been a part of my life adventures for a long time. It has been doused in ocean water on beach vacations, pulled over my eyes for sleeping on airplanes, thrown on for daddy & daughter canoe rides in Michigan, and adorned my head when I began running earlier this year. This hat fosters more nostalgia than I could begin to list here or anyone would care to read. While I am somewhat saddened to let it go, I am grateful for the memories brought back by reflecting on it. It’s definitely just a piece of apparel, but the experiences shared while wearing it make it just a little bit more.

Pumped Up

Tonight is the beginning of the World Series with my beloved New York Mets coming back to the grand stage for the first time in 15 years. We cranked into this round with a pretty thorough beat down of the Chicago Cubs. Our young pitching staff did a great job of shutting down a great lineup and were able to channel their excitement into quality production. Pitching coach Dan Warthen talked about the management skills of the pitchers and said, “Adrenaline is like fire. It’s a valuable servant, but a dangerous master."

Excitement and adrenaline can be very helpful tools. The thrill of a new challenge or the tension of a stressful moment can increase our focus and even cause us to perform above our normal capabilities. If we are unable execute with precision however, this adrenaline can become a hindrance. This can be applied to our physical workouts, fulfilling personal vision, engaging stressful work situations, or deftly maneuvering through relationship difficulties. The difference in precise success and sloppy mediocrity is in whether we control our adrenaline or it controls us.

Walk Off Story

I've written many times about my love of a good story. I love to hear how details work together to create unique moments. I want to see tales of triumph, compassion, and genuine human emotion. This is one of the reasons I love sports. It's not just to see great athletic feats and the power of a team coming together, but also to witness the stories that flow from competition, sacrifice, and loyalty.

This week my beloved NY Mets were active in trade talks as we are positioned to make a playoff run for the first time in several years. One of our players, Wilmer Flores, was part of a trade which was reported to be completed on Wednesday night. With social media leading the charge the fans in the stands of the game knew about it before the players on the field. As word quickly spread to the dugout of Wilmer's impending trade, he became emotional as he realized he was leaving the only team he had been part of during his professional career. His tears were captured by the cameras and quickly became a focal point of sports shows that evening. All of this soon changed however as the trade fell through and he remained a Met.

Two days later Wilmer received a standing ovation from the Mets fans when he came to bat. They were showing their appreciation for an athlete who clearly loved playing for his home team. While everyone was enjoying the feel-good moment for a homegrown player, no one could have anticipated the conclusion to these three days. Locked in a tie ballgame against the first place team, the Mets won when Wilmer hit a walk-off home run in extra innings. While writers and journalists tried to capture the emotion of the moment there is no real way to encapsulate the range of emotions this young man felt over three days. His joy and sorrow were as palpable and genuine as the obvious love shared between teammates and fans.

This is a great reminder of the power of a story and how sometimes life is better than anything we could come up with on our own. These are found in places all around us if we're willing to look for them.

Long Term Effects

I've been a Mets fan for a long time and we've had a modicum of success over the years. Sadly, most of the years in between winning have been filled with unfortunate injuries, poor production, and overspending on contracts for free injuries. The perfect example is the contract of Bobby Bonilla. He signed as a free agent with the team in 1992, but quickly become a divisive force in the clubhouse. In an effort to move him off the club they agreed to defer his contract so it paid him $1.19 million each year on July 1st from 2011-2035. Needless to say, this has created the opportunity for many layers of jokes about the ball club.

This is a perfect example of the results of bad decisions in our personal lives. We might choose to do something which seems okay in the interim, but it can have long-lasting implications. We don't always think of the ridicule we will suffer or all of the consequences when we make these choices. Unfortunately, our unwillingness to think this through doesn't negate the damaging results.

Settling for Good

Frequent readers of my blog know I am an avid New York Mets fan. I've followed them for years and continue to do so even when they aren't playing great baseball. Earlier this year they had an 11 game winning streak which brought them front page publicity for their accomplishment. I blogged about their streak while also recognizing it may not last forever. Since that run of victories ended my beloved Mets have the second worst record in baseball. There are many excuses to be made (injuries, misfortune, youth) but it doesn't change their overall record.

I thought about the team this morning and the attitude they might be dealing with right now. I'm sure they are working hard to get better and win games, but the truth is that hard work might not make the difference they hoped. At some point we might realize that this just isn't a very good team. No amount of extra work and hustle will transform them into the best in the league if the talent they have isn't good enough to begin with. I'm not discounting the opportunity to make the most of your abilities, but there is a ceiling for all of us=-which will prevent some levels of excellence from being reached.

That's a hard lesson to learn for anyone--sometimes your best isn't enough to deliver what you hoped for. It's why the team concept is so important. We've got to surround ourselves with people whose strengths compensate for our weaknesses.

Winning Long Term

It's tough being a Mets fan recently. My team followed up an impressive start with an increasingly lackluster stretch that has knocked us out of first place. On paper things still look decent as we sit in second place with a winning record, but the performance has been dismally disappointing lately. There isn't really any aspect of the team's performance that is good right now and it's difficult to watch as a fan. It's almost as if they have forgotten to continue the positive habits that led to early victories. My Mets certainly can't hope to find long-term success by continuing this pattern of play.

We've got to be consistent in doing the right things if we want our personal lives to go well too. If we want to be successful, we can't rely on only being good for short stretches of time. It's the same way we can't have a healthy marriage by being attentive to our spouse's needs only on our anniversary. We can't effectively parent when we only respond to poor behavior. We won't maintain good health by exercising and eating right sporadically. We won't build a solid relationship with Christ when we only turn to Him in difficult circumstances and ignore Him the rest of the time.

There is no way we can always be at the top of our game, but we also can't rely on brief periods of positive focus and hope it carries over to the rest of our lives. We've got to put in the effort to maintain positive behaviors and decision making to build a streak that lasts.

Start Strong

I am enjoying the fact that my beloved New York Mets have now won 11 games in a row and have the best record in the league. I am not a brand new fan however and am not fooled into thinking this will necessarily guarantee our success for the rest of the year. Our record in April does not automatically mean that we will be in the playoffs (as much as I wish that were true.) I just keep telling people that I am going to enjoy a run of good baseball for as long as it lasts.

There are a lot of leadership principles to take from that example: starting off strong leads to long term success, a good beginning sets you up for a good ending, staying focused at the start of a long journey helps you stay focused on your destination, and probably several others. Perhaps the lesson I need to see most out of this is much more simple: enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Marathon

Baseball season has begun and my New York Mets won their first game last night. It wasn't necessarily a pretty win, but we are undefeated on the season at 1-0. At this pace we will win 162 games and be the first undefeated baseball team in the history of the game.

Naturally, I don't expect this to be a reality. In fact, my Mets have the best winning percentage on opening day of any major league team since 1962 and yet that hasn't always translated into winning seasons. A baseball season is often described as a marathon and not a sprint. While winning games early in the season is preferable to losing them, it doesn't automatically guarantee championships. You've got to be consistent over the long haul to win.

This is even more true in our personal relationships. Good parenting isn't defined by a random moment of life investment. Success with one leadership decision doesn't cement a positive, lasting legacy. A solitary tender moment between husband and wife won't create a loving relationship that endures. The relationships in our life are meant to thrive in a marathon environment with consistent attention and effort. Anything less might be temporarily appealing, but the lack of sustainability will derail any positive credibility.

Play Ball!

The start of the baseball season is almost here and I am pretty pumped about it. I love all sports, but I am a huge baseball fan and have been loyal to my New York Mets for years. As a Mets fan the years of winning baseball have been fewer in number than I would like, but I still maintain my commitment to faithfully following them. Each spring I find myself with the same sense of anticipation and hope for success. Even if we don't look that great in spring training I always believe that we can do well once the real season begins.

There is something about the start of a new season that hints at the potential for success. It's what keeps me following a mediocre baseball team, but is also what keeps pushing me forward in seasons in my personal life. I always believe that the next season is going to be better than the current one and bring new successes. It's a positive outlook forged in hopeful expectation for new beginnings. 

At Bat

I saw online this morning that my beloved NY Mets are changing hitting coaches once again. They
fired the first coach about halfway through this season and promoted the guy they let go yesterday. When you compare the team's batting results under both coaches they are very similar.

These parallel statistics could point to the ineffectiveness of both men to identify problems and communicate solutions. It could also be very revealing about the players they are attempting to improve. Perhaps the issue isn't with the coaching philosophy, but the talent and focus of the players they are working to help. If they continue to bring in hitting coaches and see the same results it might hint of a problem that isn't related to leadership or instruction.

At some point, a leader is doing the best they can with what they have. The results may not be at the level that is hoped for, but changing the leader may not elevate the level of performance either.

A Class Act

While most of the baseball world was focused on the retirement of Derek Jeter yesterday, he was not the only player to retire. Bobby Abreu, an 18 year veteran, also hung up his cleats as a player. He is more well known as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, but retired as a New York Met who had signed him to a one year contract. Once Bobby made his intentions known the Mets brought him back up to the major league level and let him start his final game. After he got a hit in the fifth inning, manager Terry Collins had a pinch-runner come into the game for him which allowed Bobby to receive a standing ovation from the home crowd. It was a respectful moment and gave Bobby a chance to be celebrated even though his retirement may have been overshadowed by a more well known player.

Terry Collins' actions showed great respect for Bobby and his years of service. It's a perfect example of how great leaders take the opportunity to recognize others for their contributions. Celebrating employment anniversaries and special occasions lets other people know that they are valued. Leaders should look for these moments to turn the spotlight on others as often as possible. It engenders loyalty, creates a team mentality that can't truly be forged without it, and reveals the true heart of the leader.