The Way You Do Anything is the Way You’ll Do Everything

“The way you do anything is the way you’ll do everything.“

I heard this quote the other day and I think there is a lot of truth in it when it comes to life and baseball.Human beings are creatures of habit.  How we act and think today is very likely to be the same as we thought and behaved yesterday.  In the game of baseball, very few players have the ability to “flip the switch” and turn their effort and ability levels up 10 notches when the game starts.  Some players fool themselves into thinking this.  They’ll say to people things like, “I’m not a practice player.  I’m more of a game player” or “I’ll save my focus and energy for the game because that’s when it will count.“This line of thinking becomes more dangerous as players get older and the game gets faster, more difficult, and more competitive.  If our mind and body thinks and practices at less than 100% effort, our mind and body will begin to develop the habit of less than 100% effort.  Less than 100% becomes the new normal.  When that habit is established, your mind and body will fight against you when you try to turn it up a notch.  You enter the game and try to flip the switch and your mind and body say “Nope.  Less than 100% is what you taught me to do so that’s what you are going to get.“When teammates of very successful athletes like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Derek Jeter are asked to comment on these players, a common theme tends to emerge.  All tend to mention the talent but focus mainly on how much they admire their work ethic and professionalism in perfecting their craft.  Basically, the intensity shown in the games is the same intensity displayed in practice, on the bench, in the clubhouse, and in other areas of their lives as well.A student who is consistently late to class becomes the player who is late to practice.  The kid who is disrespectful to the teacher becomes the player who is disrespectful to his coaches.  The student who checks his cell phone every time the teacher looks away becomes the player who goofs off during a drill as soon as the coach walks away.If you are not satisfied with your game, you may want to first do an honest evaluation of your mental and physical habits away from baseball.  Fix one and you’ll probably end up fixing the other too.