Transformation isn’t pretty, it’s gritty. My best ballplayers were the ones who loved mastering the basics. They were elite defenders and they always wanted more – more reps, more ground balls. Mastering the basics is a forever endeavor. Literally. I “know” the basics, the ground balls, of BTL – the concepts of fear vs love, passions and purpose. Today I went deeper and gained a new level of mastery. Let me explain.
I’d done some writing around the purpose behind some of my habits, including why I lift weights. I first wrote that it’s because I love feeling strong. Chet had me write 5 whys deeper. I ended up drilling down to this –
I love pushing my body because I know hard things will come along in this life and I want to be prepared. Not only for the fun things – climbing mountains – but for anything else that may come my way on or off the mountains. My protective instinct runs deep. I want to be prepared to stand in the gap for those I love and for those unable to protect themselves.
Suddenly I had an epiphany. Deep core purposes don’t necessarily change, I’m simply changing what fuels them. My sense of purpose around being a protector was originally rooted in fear and anger (that’s a story for another day). That drove me, and was driving me into the ground for much of my life. Then I dealt with it. Wrote, got clarity, built a stronger core. That protector instinct, however, is still hard wired deep within me. The difference is that now it’s fueled by joy and love rather than anger and fear.
Subtle difference. HUGE shift. I understand passion and purpose in a whole new way. A new level of mastery with many more to go. So whether you’re just starting out, a year in, or wherever you are on your BTL journey, just know that this is the way. There’s no magic fairy dust or special sauce you haven’t figured out yet. Just do the work, get the reps, master the basics. More ground balls.
BUILT TO LEAD 