Truth

The truth can help you grow. One of the biggest conversations I have ever had was my junior year  in college. Until this day, I still look back at it and it continues to teach me a lot about life. 

That year, I had decided to walk on to a program that I wanted to play for. The whole fall, I thought I showed up and did everything I could to make the team. At the end of the fall the coaches held an exit meeting with each player individually to wrap up how the fall went. For someone like me , it was more about whether or not I made the team. In a nutshell, he told me that I had made the team and they would love to have me be part of the program. The words said prior to him saying I made the team were more important than the results. 

He said that the whole fall I wasn’t even on their radar to make the team. It wasn’t until the last series of the fall that I made an impression and that was the deciding factor of me making the team. He then followed up by saying, we would love to have you on the team but I might get anywhere between 7-10 at bats all season because we already have our shortstop. I then thanked him for the opportunity to make the team and declined his offer.

I went home and went straight to work, promising myself that the next school I went to to finish my college career and that I would be the starter and leave no doubt. Leaving that office that day left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Prior to that day, in my head I thought I was the next draft pick in the program and on the path to get to the big leagues. As much as I hated hearing, “… you might get anywhere between 7-10 at bats all season because we already have our shortstop” It was a moment that I will always be thankful for. It gave me a lesson about truth. Although we never want to hear it, it is a very powerful tool to help us see our blind spots and a tool that can help us get out of our comfort zones.