Success Over Fear

I have recently had the pleasure of crossing paths with Steven who has impressed me not only as and athlete but also as a person. It is exciting to have the opportunity to work in conjunction with him on different projects, and this blog is just one of those projects. Below is an article written by Steven on desiring to succeed more than fearing failure. Enjoy....

An anxious mind cannot exist in a relaxed body.” This was the story of the first half of my 2016 campaign. I was always caught up thinking, when am I going to get moved up, I am out playing these guys so why am I still here. I was so caught up in the fear of failure and that I was failing, that my play would dip. I was always told “a full mind is a empty bat”, at about at the half way mark of the season my numbers would show this.

Every day I would show up to the park with a full mind of, if I don't go 2/4 today then I am never going to get moved up. I was already setting myself up to fail before I even stepped on the field.

I started off the season red hot. I felt I couldn't get out, I was always finding a way on. At that time I was playing every day and the starter. After the new draft class would come in they bumped me to only play 3 days a week rather than the 5 I was playing before. In my mind I automatically thought I was doing something wrong. I was failing. But how could I be failing? I was hitting .420 and catching great games. My mind would quickly take that “fear of failure mindset”.

During this time I felt like I was playing on pins and needles, any wrong move and I could be called into the managers office and cut. This really made a drop in my play, I would soon go on a 0-18 spout. I was in the dumps, I wasn't playing much and when I was playing I was not preforming. How could I show the manager that he should play me more?

Why, I would ask myself, why is this happening, why am I not playing, why am I not preforming. It was the fear of failure. Unlike in the beginning of the season when I was doing well and I would just go out and lay it on the line every night, I was scared of a negative outcome when I would play. I was not playing like myself. I was not leaving it all on the field.

As the All-Star break came to an end and I sat at home rather than being able to play in the game, I told myself am going to play the rest of the season and not be afraid of negative out comes and not be afraid to fail. I had the desire to succeed again. I always wanted to succeed the whole season but once the fear of failure crept in, it consumed my desire.

I would step on the field after the All-Star break and play worry free again. I was having a great time playing a kids game with some of my great friends. I was really enjoying the game. This would put me right back on track and I finished the year out strong.

One major experience I took from this and feel you should as well, is the desire to succeed and working hard will always over come the fear of failure. Don't let that fear creep into your mind because it can reck havoc on your play. Never fear failure because no matter if you are playing baseball or any other sports or in the workplace., there will always going to be failures and the thought of what if. Strive to over come those thoughts and keep your mind on the desire to succeed and most of all, have fun.

Never forget the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.