My goodness, you’d think it was Armageddon here in Tampa Bay.
After reading the headline “The End is Near” with a photo of a despondent, depressed and disgusted baseball player on the Rays team – I’m sure some might think it really is the end of the whirld.
A year ago, the team was filled with optimism despite having about as much chance of making the playoffs as a dog has for solving quadratic equations.
But this year, negativity abounds. A week ago, when the team lost to the Orioles, the same key player pictured in “The End is Near” was quoted as saying, “We cannot lose anymore games.”
Wait a second, you’ve got three weeks left and you’re talking about all the games for the rest of the season. Whatever happened to take one game at a time. Look at the future but live in the present.
One of the big keys to success in life, in any arena, is knowing when to stop looking ahead. And the answer is “most of the time.”
Yes, you set goals for the future. You picture them, you think about them, you even make plans on how you’re going to achieve them. But most of the time you’ve got to live in the present because that’s all you ever have anyway.
The future is pictured in the now. The past is remembered in the now. And the now takes place in the now.
Earlier today a good friend, who played in the MLB for many years and owns a World Series ring, called and said, “Hey, I was watching one of your players in the game the other day.”
“Yeah,” I said. “What’d you think?”
“I think he doesn’t want to be out there. He’s just putting in his time. And his attitude has infected the whole team. They’re all playing like they want to get the season over with.”
“You know, I never thought of it that way,” I replied. “But I think you’re right.”
“Look at it this way, this guy is supposed to be a club house leader. He’s a veteran player. And if he doesn’t care, what message do you think is trickling down to everyone else on the team.”
A few days ago I was mentoring a business man facing the very same issue. He has someone on his staff who is negative, and the bad vibe has infected the entire office.
What to do?
Fire the person or see if you can turn him around.
Turning around someone’s negativity is a job you don’t want to wish on anyone. It’s no easy task.
Why?
Because the person who is negative rarely wants to change. So the best thing you can do is make yourself better – and those who want to be around your positive influence will change because they want to – not because you told them they better do so.
You cannot afford to keep negative people around because they tend to make everything around them worse rather than better. Despite all your valiant attempts to pull others up, chances are excellent you’ll only be brought down in the process.
This is why “environment” is so important to success. It trumps genetics. It trumps natural talent. It trumps who you know and what you study.
If you associate with people who are good at what they do, they’ll make you better. If you associate with people who are great at what they do, they’ll make you greater. And if you get around those who’ve mastered something, you to can rise to the level of master.
The opposite is also true. Run with chickens and you’ll become fearful. Swim with flounder and you’ll become bottom feed. Any success you may have while going in the wrong current with the wrong school will be a “fluke.”
In life, as well as in baseball, you don’t look too far into the future. You don’t play three weeks worth of games, today. You take care of today’s game NOW. You take care of the next pitch NOW.
And you play the game one breath at a time.
Set goals for yourself – but focus on today, this moment. Right now.
Best,
Matt Furey
P.S. To live in the NOW and approach your future in the most powerful way there is, be sure to look into the Zero Resistance Living program. It changes lives from the inside out – the only real way change ever happens.
