Treat Every Day Like Opening Day

Now that Baseball's Opening Day has come and gone, I can’t help but reflect on some feelings that always bubble up on one of my favorite days of the year. The further I get away from working every day in sports, I realize how much they mimic life. How much there is to learn and apply to our every day routine and mindset. I’m also starting to appreciate that that is part of what drew me to a career in professional sports to begin with.

Some musings on how we can apply that Opening Day energy to our everyday life:

• You wake up undefeated.

• After an off-season of analysis and transactions, the rankings, predictions, speculation, and past performance are all rendered irrelevant. All that matters is the present.

• Each day is an opportunity to get better. 

• Sometimes, that progress is overt. Other times, it's hard to see from the outside. But it better be happening.

• A lot of what happens is out of our control. Weather. Injuries. A rocket hit right at them. A blooper hit just past you. Worrying about that stuff is a fool's errand. Control the controllables.

• To win, you're going to need a few things to happen: stay healthy, top players need to play as such, and a role player or two to have career years. Said another way: to do something special, you often need a boost from an unexpected source.

• You will encounter adversity. How you handle it will determine the outcome of your season.

• No matter how good you start out, remember: it’s a long season. The best of the best are still going to lose about 40% of the time.

• Best of all? You have another opportunity to play tomorrow.

We love new beginnings. The rejuvenation, the optimism, the seductive uncertainty of what the day may bring. "This could be our year." Well, today could be your day. Embrace it with the same enthusiasm.