What do you see when you look in the mirror?
Are you happy with where you are in life? Are you happy with how you look? Do you not recognize the person in the mirror anymore?
It’s easy for most of us to come up with grand ideas and visions of clarity. Too often, the actionable steps get in the way of achieving what we want to see in our own reflection in the mirror.
When you looked in the mirror this morning, were you happy with what you saw? If you weren’t, what specific things have you done today to make a difference in your own life so that your reflection in the mirror tonight will look a little different?
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. You don’t have to like what you see in the mirror. But if you don’t like what you see, you need to do something about it.
Most people have gotten into the habit of seeing something and not doing anything about it. For example, someone will look into the mirror and see they are carrying around a few extra pounds with them. They tell themselves they need to lose weight – and then go about their day as normal. They have seen themselves in the mirror but they haven’t done anything about their “situation,” thus continuing to carry around their burden with them.
How about the high school baseball player who looks in the mirror freshman year and says he wants to play Division I baseball. But he then proceeds to put in minimal work, with little plan or purpose and a disregard for nutrition, sleep and other things vital to working smarter, not harder, to achieve his goal. We all know this isn’t going to help him achieve his ultimate goal of playing at the next level.
We Never Arrive. We Are Always Becoming.
Are you happy with where you are in life and in your career? Are you happy with what you see in the mirror every day?
Life is a series of ups and downs, with every up and down providing valuable purpose in our lives. Some days the mirror reflects back someone we are not proud of. Someone who has not lost, but has learned a valuable lesson. Some days the mirror reflects back someone who we are proud of. Someone who has gone outside of his/her comfort zone to achieve something that they never thought they would ever achieve.
Be cautious of the latter reflection.
Accomplishments in life and on the ball field are moments we savor. Things we treasure. Stories we tell over and over with great detail and as the years go by, with some exaggeration to embellish our small victories.
But when you accomplish something, when you look in the mirror and you’re happy with what you see, it doesn’t mean you have arrived.
We never arrive. We are always becoming.
You see, one of the most dangerous things we can believe in is success. Success is a byproduct of our purpose and our process. Success is the accomplishment of a goal – but it’s not the end of a journey.
Every morning when we look in the mirror, we are reminded of two things.
One, we should be grateful for another day to spend above ground with friends and loved ones. And two, the day is another opportunity to grow and pour into ourselves and to impact, influence and inspire others to get 1% Better.
Every day brings new opportunities to become someone. To become a servant leader. To become a better husband. To push yourself in the weight room to become a stronger player. To take five minutes to have a conversation with a troubled player on your team to help him become that player and person he always wanted to be. The list goes on and on.
Your Reflection Is Your Reputation
Almost anything you do in life that has meaning is going to be difficult. If you want to become a big league baseball player, there is a lot to it that you won’t like. You won’t like the workouts. You won’t like travel. You won’t like the toll it takes on you and your family. You won’t like the politics. You won’t like the feeling of not being able to control 99% of what happens in the game and your career. A lot of it won’t be comfortable for you.
It’s one thing to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you’re going to do whatever it takes to make it the big leagues. It’s another thing to act on your words and actually DO IT.
You have a CHOICE.
You can choose two routes. One, you can choose to do the minimum and get by barely and that’s your reputation, or you can attack your life and career as hard as you can and that’s your reputation.
Are they going to remember you by slowly opening the door and peeking into your career? Or are they going to remember you for kicking down the door and showing everyone that you were the best at what you did.
If you choose to do something – attack it.
Your greatest regret in life is hearing and not doing. Take a few minutes to watch this famous speech from Art Williams that gets to the heart of what we all should do when we look in the mirror.
Love,
KW
For more than a decade, Kevin Wilson has been one of the most respected hitting coaches in the game. He works behind the scenes as a private hitting consultant to some of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. In 2013, Kevin was the hitting coach for the USA Baseball 18U National Team. Team USA beat Japan for the Gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan.
He is the author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller The #GoodBatting Book and co-hosts a popular podcast, KWB Radio, that showcases unique conversations with the pros. If you want Kevin to speak at your next event or if you want take advantage of his popular 2-day KWB Experience for players and coaches, contact Kevin today!
Follow Kevin on twitter @KWBaseball and visit his website KWBaseball.com