By Jonathan Massey –
This is the story of the pump. A simple pump, when used properly, can be used for many important tasks, such as providing drinking water for a community or removing unwanted water from a flooded area.
To understand this story, you must be able to understand the physics of a pump. As you begin to pump the pump, fluid begins to fill the inside. During the early stages of your efforts, you do not see any results in terms of fluid coming out of the pump. The pump is being “primed,” meaning the fluid level inside the pump is being built up so that, eventually, fluid will come out.
The problem arises when you stop pumping because you are not seeing any fluid come out. Once you stop, the internal level of fluid in the pump decreases, and you will have to re-prime the pump if you are ever going to see any results from your work. If your goal is to get anything out of the pump, you must continue to “pump the pump.”
Pumps are like baseball players. Some pumps take longer than others to prime, just like some players see results from their work faster than others. Also, remember that the inner workings of a pump are hidden from sight, just like the inner workings of a baseball player are hidden. It is impossible to know when you have done enough priming and the results are about to flow. How many times have you quit when you were one pump away? You will never know how good you can be if you stop pumping the pump.
Remember, the bottom line of this story is that you must pump the pump. If at any time you stop pumping, you cease to get results. You must pump the pump when you are tired, when you are pitching poorly, when you are frustrated, and even when things are great. If you want to continue your baseball career, you will never be able to stop pumping the pump. When you are done pumping, you are done playing.
Pump the pump.
I originally read this parable from Coach Wallace, and as we reach the midpoint of the baseball season, I felt like it was a good time to remind us that we must continue to “pump the pump.” As spring breaks come and go, this is where a majority of baseball players will find themselves in one of two camps… Camp A: this season has gone wildly better than expected, and I am outperforming all of my expectations. I can now coast to the end of the year. I have arrived. Camp B: this season has gone horribly. I am not pitching as much as I would like or at all. I might as well dial it in and wait for this season to be over with.
Being in either camp is not ideal. The camp you want to be in (and the camp that can turn a season around or continue a great season) is the camp where you are simply trying to get better each and every day. That is what the story of the pump reminds us to do. To continue putting in the work because it’s the work that will lead to continued success or help turn the season around. So, whether you are having the best season of your life or the worst, continue to pump the pump!
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