MY TWO CENTS:
We’re in the early part of the 2023 baseball season, which is my favorite sports season of the year. The sound of the baseball hitting the catcher’s mitt or the ball off the bat, the smell of peanuts, popcorn, and Cracker Jacks, and the warm sun beating down as the players do amazing things. America’s favorite pastime!!
Technology has changed a lot of things in sports. One item that comes to mind is how players can watch things like how a pitcher throws a ball or how a batter swings the bat between innings on a tablet in the dugout. You’ve undoubtedly seen this in football, as well, when the quarterback comes off the field and reviews the play sequences and outcomes on a tablet. These high-level athletes are pausing in the middle of their game to assess themselves and how to be more effective.
This got me thinking about my own “game tape.” Am I pausing to review the outcome of the “plays” of my life? Have I been looking for ways that I can throw the ball better, swing the bat more powerfully, love my wife more purposefully, encourage my kids more consistently, or serve my clients more specifically?
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the momentum of the game. It’s easy to be excited about cheering on our teammates. It’s also easy to sulk when we strike out or be angry when we give up a home run.
However, it takes purpose and intentionality to sit down on the bench and review ourselves and our performance. It requires us to pause the noise around us to assess how we did something amazing so we can replicate it again, or where we need to be better to help our team win.
For our newest readers, when I share these thoughts in MTC, it is often as simple as me speaking truth to myself. Today is no exception.
How about you? Do you have purposeful pauses inserted into your day, your week, your month to assess your “game tape?” If you do, are you only looking to improve your weaknesses, or are you also celebrating your singles, doubles, triples, and homeruns?
We’d love to hear from you if this idea resonates. If you have a story to share, please feel free to respond so we can all keep growing together.
Make it a great week!
Scott Cousino, CFP®, CEPA®
President