Setbacks, Slumps, and Resets

One of my favorite pieces of advice came from my Coach. 

This guy is a Coach with a capital C. 

Not a life coach. Not a personal development coach, or career coach, or leadership coach. Not a baseball coach.

Though he does in fact do all of these things, I simply consider him Coach. It's a major part of who he is.

I was going through a challenging time, and I wasn't giving in. I kept at it. I was going to fix things. Fix my situation. Fix my job. Fix my health. Fix my attitude. Fix my life. Fix everything.

And yet, there we sat drinking hot coffee and I just didn't have it in me. I was drained. Exhausted. Nothing I was doing seemed to work.

And like with any good coach, I was able to be honest about where my head was at.

He and I often talk baseball. It's part of the circumstances of how we met and his philosophy on baseball is as much centered on life skills as it is on athletics and what happens on the diamond.

"Sometimes, when you're in a slump, it's a good idea to bench yourself. Take yourself out of the game for a bit. Get some perspective from the dugout, rather than the field of play."

It was an instant salve. 

There is a time and place for effort. In fact, the mirror piece of advice, he said, is that when you're on a streak, push extra hard. Don't take the ease for granted. Instead, lean into it and use the momentum to improve your skills.

I'm on the bench today. But I'm not out of the game. I'm not complacent or inactive. I'm simply taking another point of view. I'm looking at it from the sidelines.

There's some value, and certainly some relief, in giving myself permission to do so.