Here’s the thing – You must have a plan for turning things around when things go awry, which always occurs at some point.

The famous commercial says, “Just do it.” Yea, there’s the answer, and it’s simple, right? Just do it. Talk about laughable; if it were that easy, I would have been a perennial MLB All-star and would have won every marathon I entered. Best of all, I would be a terrific golfer. But, no, no, and no is the actual results, even though I have just tried to do it. What a bunch of garbage that line is, and I am only half-joking.

It is never easy to be one’s best. But, of course, the key to just doing it begins with practice, make that perfect practice, and then repeating that over and over. Next, change can only come by having an optimistic and durable mind.

In my new book, The Success Trail, I document how my baseball-playing past helps me with marathon running, and life for that matter. When things seem the bleakest, like a solid 0 for 20 something at-bats in the big leagues, I experienced, or in every marathon, I’ve run, when I believe I am spent around mile 20, or the golf course when I often have no clue, it’s about framing the mind.

Of course, the first thing we do is just stop caring, which may help for a spell, but the truth is we do care.

I wish I were better at mind maneuverability back in the day, but I tried. So here is what I wish I was better at then and what I now teach to my hitting students.

1. Work on the batting tee shows what’s possible.
2. Batting practice proves one can just do it.
3. Repeating those enough provide the attitude of “I got this” for the games.
4. But, of course, hitting is some hard “s- - -“ so when I don’t have it and can’t just do it, the key is to believe “I will” the next time. The “I will” is the only way to survive the ups and downs of hitting a baseball, a golf ball, running, and living.

So, the next time you feel overwhelmed, do the following:

1. Think of what is realistically possible.
2. Prepare to the best of your ability.
3. Tell yourself you got this.
4. Go back to the drawing board, knowing “you will” the next time.

Finally, take the words and concepts “can’t” and “never” out of your mindset, and you have a chance.