Confessions from a Personal Trainer: I’m not very fond of baseball

Where every Tuesday: I confess.

Confession: As much as I love sports and being active, I’m not particularly fond of the sport of baseball.

However, baseball is a lot like life. 

• You have to be in it for the long haul. ( I believe a baseball game should really end at the 7th inning stretch – but that’s just my opinion!)
• As well trained as the catcher is, they can’t always predict the pitch. Sometimes it’s a fastball, a change-up, a knuckle ball, or a curve ball.
• There’s food and alcohol.
• The weather is unpredictable – sunny and hot, chilly and windy, maybe rainy, and if you’re in Minnesota, sometimes there’s snow.
• You can start off by losing all of your games (aka the MN Twins) but still stand a chance of coming back.
• There are funny mascots that run around and do stupid things that make people laugh.
• If you’re lucky you won’t be seated next to the obnoxiously drunk person.

For today I want to focus on the pitching – specifically the curveball. Life is FULL of them. They come out of nowhere, they come when you’re not expecting them, and they really come at you when the pitcher says he’s going to do one thing and then throws a curveball.

It doesn’t matter how hard you practice, how prepared you feel you are, or how neatly pressed your uniform is, there is going to be a curveball.

But, you have to swing. You have to risk embarrassment if you miss. And if you hit that curveball, you run like hell. Because you never know what your reaction to the curveball means to your team and the rest of the game.

If you miss the curveball, you can’t just mope in the dugout. You get up and you go up to bat the next time and in all the innings that come after the curveball. Until…….there’s ANOTHER CURVEBALL.

In life there are unpredictable curveballs, endless innings and so many chances to step up to the plate. 

• Eat a treat on a Wednesday? Don’t throw away the rest of the week, get back to eating well right away in the next inning.
• Have a bad day at work? Step up to the plate with an even better attitude.
• Receive terrible news? Take an inning to yourself, and then get back out there.
• Not having any fun in life? Run around the bases in a mascot outfit and laugh at yourself and how much fun it is.
• Training for an event and end up with an injury? Rehab until your body is ready and then come back stronger.
• Lose a pet? Love them and then keep yourself open and ready for the next inning and especially the next season.

Don’t let those curveballs be the end of your game. Keep on playing. 

My curveball was the death of my dog Rio, but I came back to the game and Toula found me. She’s a gem.