Winning Decisions – It’s Pat Yourself on the Back Day

Winning Decisions Come in All Sizes

Some days we wake up and say, “Dang, why didn’t I do that instead.” Others, we get up with thoughts of, “Thank God I did that.” Today is one of those latter days for me.

Some of the decisions we make occur in the heat of the moment. One such that comes to mind, and to begin the “pat myself on the back day,” came in a game in Triple-A baseball. With the bases loaded and less than two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, I came strolling to the plate in a tie game. With little power, which you can interpret as none, the opposing manager brought one of the three outfielders into the infield to prevent any groundballs from getting through. It’s not a strategy often deployed.

Knowing the situation, I must try to get the ball solidly into the air, and even if not very deep, chances are it would fall in with only two outfielders, and the winning run could score. That thought process was a spur of the moment, winning decision. With my angst built up over the coach’s nerve, I proceeded to --- wait for it --- hit a grand slam - I lie not. The glory days moment brought satisfaction and it helped to negate the many times the ending to a similar situation didn’t go so well.

Then, there are winning decisions we make beforehand that prove beneficial. For example, the decision to choke up on the bat, quite a bit, I must say, before the 1984 season did the job to the tune of 180 hits. That deserves a more significant pat on the bat when I think of my previous major league career results.  

Finally, there are life-changing winning decisions like deciding to run marathons at the age of 52. I began running far and haven’t stopped, and give thanks daily for the health to do so. Finding a goal and having a purpose later in life has brought even greater satisfaction beyond the obvious family life ones.

The above has helped me define other aspects of the Success Trail.

Winning Decisions the Success Trail helped me figure out:

1. Some decisions work, and many don’t; that’s the nature of sports and life.

2. Never forget to have some pat on the back days, even for the smallest of improvements and accomplishments. We all deserve them, and most wins are of the small variety anyway.

3. Always believe you have a passion, or more than one, you don’t know yet or haven’t had time to try. My younger self thought I was the least creative person in the world. Four books later, perhaps I was wrong.  

4. Winning is not what life is all about, of course, but striving to be one’s best self is the real definition of winning. So, with that in mind, it is under everyone’s control.

The Success Trail here may be what you or a friend needs at Holiday time!