Bitter or Better?

It was the bottom of the 9^th inning, two outs, bases loaded, and the proverbial three – two count on the opposing team batter. If we made this last out, the championship game would go into extra innings! We were on a traveling baseball team playing at home, and at 16 years old, I’d never seen so many fans at a game before. It was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. The batter hit an infield fly ball right to me.  As if in horrifying slow motion, the ball hit the palm of my glove and rolled out onto the ground as I tried in vain to dive for it. The runners advanced and the other team won the game. Total silence followed from my teammates and the fans. Everyone was in shock. I lay on the ground with my face covered, wanting to disappear forever. One of the outfielders stopped long enough to say, “I don’t ever want you on my team again” and continued on to the locker room. My biggest regret is that I never played baseball again. I quit, gave up and allowed fear to dominate me. I am still frustrated with the fact that I dropped the ball, but I hate that I quit! Once we give up, we also give up the opportunity to grow, get better and learn from our experiences. I could have used that failure to become a better player, but instead I became bitter. In the short run, quitting is a lot easier than getting up and trying again, but in the long run quitting will rob you of everything worth living for! Three years later, while trying out for the base football team, the coach told me I would not make the team because I had no prior experience. It would have been easy to give up again. I felt the bitterness embrace me. I had another great excuse – the coach said no! However, this time I decided to get better, to use this as a catalyst to learn and change. At the start of the season, the coach came to me again, but this time he said, “Congratulations, you earned a spot on our team.” He also said, “I did not think you had a chance of making the team, but your attitude and desire have made a place for you.” It’s easy to quit, and it’s easy to find reasons why we give up – anyone can do that, but what can happen if we decide we’re not going to quit? If you quit, you have sealed the deal; nothing will happen.  That’s safe, but passionless, yet anything is possible to the person who decides he will not give up! Find your Passion and you will find your life!