The Peak Performance Expert

Last night’s baseball game between the Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays provided a good metaphor for the uncertainties and challenges we all face in life. For a while it looked like the Red Sox had it in the bag with a 2-run lead but then set-up man Daniel Bard, who usually dispatches hitters with laser-like efficiency, fell apart as he allowed Toronto to load the bases.  It looked like he was going to get away with it but alas, the Jays scored 5 times in the 8^th inning. The Red Sox managed to put two more runs on the board in the 9^th but it wasn’t enough to win the game. 

I suppose the lesson in this is that sometimes, despite years of experience and hundreds of hours of preparation and a superb track record of peak performance, we can fail.  It can fall apart and no matter what we do at those times, we can’t get it right. 

The mental toughness comes after the debacle.  Do you let it eat away at you? Do you beat yourself up? Do you hide in shame? Do you give up?  Or do you take a step back and objectively evaluate what happened?  Do you use the set-back as an opportunity to learn and grow? Do you seek some help in figuring it out?   

I’m betting Bard feels pretty bad about what happened but I also think he’s already creating a plan to prevent it from happening again.