For me, the start of baseball season is one of the most wonderful times of the year. It means winter is over, and hope springs eternal for each team. Even long-suffering fans know that every season brings with it favorites who falter and long shots who shock the world.
I saw a tweet in a newspaper years ago (when X was still Twitter) from Bryce Harper (when he was still playing for the Nationals, not the Phillies) that still resonates:
“Play this game like the 8 year old you used to be, dreaming to play in the show! Heart, passion, and fire! Remember where you came from!”
–Bryce Harper
He tweeted this rallying cry after his team lost 2-0 to the Mets.
You might not be a Major League baseball player, but you are a former eight-year-old.
Remember when you were eight?
Remember how amazing being a grown-up sounded?
No one telling you to make your bed! No school bells or book reports or homework! Happy Meals every day! You’d trade in your bike for a car (hopefully the flying kind) and could go anywhere you wanted!
When you were a kid, you spent a lot of time imagining the day when you would finally be grown up, with all the amazing powers that came with it, like independence and height and a drivers license. You had dreams and visions of great adventures, once you finally had the chance to call your own shots and live your own story.
If you’re reading this, and you’re an adult, how’s it going?
I know, it’s not all it was cracked up to be.
But.
Are you taking advantage of your powers and the opportunities now before you?
Kim and I like to joke that as adults, we have the ability to make the best living room forts because we are taller, have a better handle on physics, and have access to all the sheets and blankets in the whole house.
And yet, when was the last time you made an epic fort and spent an entire Saturday in it?
It appears that adulthood is wasted on adults.
Yes, I know well the unanticipated downsides of adulthood: the bills, the filing of taxes, the thankless and exhausting task of raising children of our own.
But can you imagine how excited your 8-year-old self would be with the power you now possess?
You don’t have to dream about publishing a book, learning how to sail, opening a bakery, starting a community garden, putting on a concert, building a go-kart, or flying somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit. You can actually do them! You finally have the power, resources, and freedom to change the world. (At least your small part.)
But the fact remains, most adults are still sitting around waiting for someone to give them permission, as if they were still eight years old.
What’s worse, they’re missing that eight-year-old energy.
Remember where you came from. Are you playing this game of life with the heart, passion, and fire of an eight-year-old?
If not, get to it.
Leave a Reply