The Sweet Spot

Posted on by Hoosierdaddy101

CRACK!  

The sound is heard from every seat in the stadium as the bat makes contact with the ball.  The noise level rises as the fans stand in excitement, watching the flight of the ball traveling high out into centerfield.  Nachos get dumped, beer spills, the decibel level increases as the outfielder runs out of room on the warning track as the ball sails over the centerfield fence.  Fans begin high-fiving perfect strangers only seconds earlier as the music cranks up over the loud speakers…it’s a party, and it’s on!  A sense of well-being fills the atmosphere mixing with the smell of hot dogs…albeit only until the next batter…but it’s still felt.  That’s why we come to the ballpark isn’t it?

That batter made contact with the pitch on the sweet spot of his bat, and he’s going to have the media at his locker after this game.  They’ll be asking for any details about that experience.  Why?  Because we want to know.  We want to hear and feel it relived…we’ve experienced operating in that sweet spot at different times in our own lives and we love that feeling.

 

In contrast, how many of us feel this pain deep inside our gut as we watch a person out of their element, struggling toward disaster in front of an audience?  The person singing karaoke on stage who…well…….I won’t go any further with that one cuz it may have been you up there. What about the person who has never developed the gift of public speaking and yet they’re up in front of a crowd patching their points together with so many “you knows”, and “umms”?  We sense their doom and watch like a herd of zebra’s watch one of their own in the grips of a lion who’s just found lunch.  We psychologically hurt for the one and celebrate with the other who hit that sweet spot right on.

 

In baseball, you can miss that spot by less than an inch resulting in either a pop fly into short centerfield if you get under the pitch, or driving the ball into the dirt if you swing over the pitch.  I’ve heard baseball announcers react after the batter fouls a pitch straight back that “he was on that pitch and just missed it by inches.”  Such a small distance separates the outcome of fouling a pitch straight back into the backstop from hitting that home run we just celebrated right?  We all want to hit that home run, whether its in the city league game, during a presentation in a meeting, publishing an article, or catching an unforgettable moment with the lens of our camera.

 

We can find that sweet spot in sports, in our work, or while enjoying a hobby.  Put me in a coffee shop with one or two people across the table from me, and I’m in my zone…place me in a crowded room with a lot of surface chatter taking place and I’m going to strike out…if I even walk up to the plate at all.  So that said, where are the sweet spots in your life?  Where is that spot where all factors come together creating this “zone” where you operate on a higher plane.

 

I’m a probation officer currently, and I’m not yet sure that’s where I’ll be down the road.  I know, in a recent post about “Dad” I stated this is what I wanted to do growing up, but that was before I discovered writing was an interest and being stuck in the office felt eerily comparable to being in a jail cell…between the hours of 8am-5pm Monday through Friday.  Now, I’m in search of that sweet spot and how I can incorporate it into more areas of my own life…which is what motivates me to write today, and dream of someday being able to play a guitar solo like David Gilmour

 

There are places in life where we’re striking out or fouling a lot of pitches off.  We weren’t created to walk this planet and strike out…we were created to hit home runs, and drive the ball hard into the gap between left and center field extending singles into doubles and doubles into triples.  If we’re not doing this then we should consider taking a step back to examine our fundamentals?  Are we positioning ourselves correctly?  What about our footwork; are our feet spread shoulder width apart?  Are we generating the power from our core, or are we trying to get it from our arms?  Sports metaphors here for sure….but they translate to real life if we want to consider them.

 

My friend and I occasionally joke about an infamous interview caught on film years ago involving a now retired NBA superstar who mocked the idea of practice.  What a terrible message to send to the young people who looked up to him as a superstar.  Because if the truth be told, he never would have risen to the level he attained without countless hours on the court practicing  and refining his skills.  He had a legendary crossover dribble that would buckle the knees of many defenders assigned to stop him.  That didn’t just happen…he wasn’t born with this skill, he had to develop it.

I don’t see it any different for us.  Will we commit to the gym and the countless hours of practice when no one is watching?  Are you committed to learning the potential of the camera you purchased?  Are you willing to practice with the different settings to understand what you can do, and take countless pictures you end up discarding in the process as you learn?  Will I commit to establishing a structured schedule where I sit behind the keyboard and hone my skill at writing even when I’m not feeling it?   Will the person who has a desire to play guitar commit to the hours of practicing scales and chords and allow his fingertips to develop the callouses required?

The sacrifice can be even more challenging as well!  What if achieving the dreams that make our heart jump alive require us to give up something “good” in order to make room for something “great”?  Hmmm…this is tying into a previous story I just wrote.

I’m totally comfortable with having this conversation…up to this point, but now we’re venturing into that area of “cost.”  There’s a price to pay for greatness, and although we all have it in us, sadly, greatness is the exception, not the norm.  I don’t see how a person can experience that “sweet spot” feeling on any consistent basis without being willing to accept the cost that comes with it.   What are we willing to give up to achieve that which burns deep in our being?   My guess is that for each of us, that question can be answered by identifying those obstacles which present as obstacles.

Is time an obstacle?  Are you willing to give up some sleep?  What about TV time…willing to sacrifice some of that?  Maybe the obstacle is energy (Oh this is going to hurt me).  Okay, you willing to make the changes to get healthier?  (Ouch!)   This is where I’m at right now.  I’m standing at a fork-in-the-road personally, asking myself if I am willing to make the necessary changes to go for it in my dreams…in search of that sweet spot.

But lets get this off me right now and talk about someone else… I was driven toward probation and coaching because I desire to see people succeed.  I love to see the switch flip on and witness as a person elevates to the next level.  That’s what seems to drive me here in writing as well.  What are you doing today to place yourself into a position where your sweet spot makes contact with the pitches of life?  Likewise, where are you swinging and missing completely?  Check your fundamentals.  Are you putting yourself into position to thrive or simply survive?

So…when you “go yard” as they say after a player hits a home run, when you make the kind of contact you were meant to make in that sweet spot, I want to see one of those obnoxious bat flips before you break into your home run trot.  I know, I just ended this with an illustration that comes across arrogantly in our culture, but if you realize we all have that bat flip in us, then maybe you can appreciate it when others are in their own moment.  Then, we can celebrate with them like we did with that batter at the beginning of this story.  Oh!  And by the way, watch out for the nachos from that guy sitting behind you…the cheese sauce could leave a stain.

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