By Jill Wolforth-
It often surprises people to learn that I have a tendency to be a “glass half empty” person. Fortunately for me, I am married to a guy who’s a “glass ¾ full” fella, even when it’s only half. :-)
The important thing to me is my awareness of this characteristic. I’m certainly not proud of the trait, and I’m quite sure it doesn’t serve me well. I do believe while growing up, that I somehow justified this particular mindset by viewing a situation as bad, troublesome or bleak and then plowing forward and being able to do something about it, to overcome the situation and end up feeling good.
Today, I’d much rather eliminate the negative response and go straight into overcoming the situation. I’ve become better at it, but it’s a constant battle. I routinely make a conscious effort to adjust my thinking to shift to a more “glass is half full” mentality.
For example, I keep a daily Gratitude Journal. Doing so forces me, each day, to remind myself about things that are good, things for which I’m grateful. When you have 365 of those together, it’s pretty amazing. As important, on the days when something might not be going quite so well, it still forces me to find something to be grateful for.
Interestingly, in a recent sermon, our pastor called it “Remembering Your Hallelujahs”. He stated that most people remember and are far quicker to talk about the things in their lives that haven’t or aren’t going well vs. their blessings, no matter how big or small.
My Gratitude Journal helps me to remember and be reminded of my hallelujahs.
I also like finding positive quotes. I’m constantly collecting them to text to our son, to post as part of our Midweek Motivation, or to include in our newsletter. The truth is, they are as much for me as they are for anyone else. They’re just another reminder.
This week’s blog title is one such quote. I specifically like to share it with a player when he or she has had a poor performance, because many of us make things bigger or worse then than they really are and just need a little perspective. The quote is just a reminder.
Ironically, I started writing this blog post just after boarding an airplane in Houston in route to Italy via Newark. Our staff was headed to Italy to conduct a pair of pitchers’ camps. Unfortunately, bad weather delayed our flight and, even counting the two-hour scheduled layover in Newark, we arrived 90 minutes after the flight had departed for Italy.
For whatever reason, I remained very calm and optimistic throughout the entire delay. I held out hope that the flight would be waiting for us. Even after it wasn’t, and as we waited in line to make new arrangements, I thought “This might be considered a bad day” but actually, I couldn’t even consider it a bad day. Although we would now have an extra day in Newark, I knew I was with our staff, a group of people that are truly enjoyable to be around and we were still going to get to Italy. Hallelujah.
What about you? What do you have to be grateful for today? What are your hallelujahs?
POST SCRIPT: I originally completed this blog the evening of our delay. Before returning to the airport the next day, our staff decided to take a few hours and site see in New York City, since two members of the group hand never visited prior. One of our stops was the World Trade Center. In visiting the site, I was once again reminded of what a bad day actually looked like. It was definitely a shot of perspective. My Gratitude Journal this day read “I am grateful for the reminder of all my blessings.”
World Trade Center Memorial
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Many people that have participated in an Elite Pitchers Boot Camp at the Texas Baseball Ranch have shared that the 3-day event is one of the best things they’ve ever done with regards to pitching and that they are grateful for all the information The Ranch staff shares and the passion behind it.
We’d love to have you experience this for yourself. There are three Winter boot camp dates on the schedule but slots are filling fast.
Information and registration is available at www.TexasBaseballRanch.com/events.
or call (936) 588-6762.
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