Bottom of the Ninth #98 - Being a Perfectionist

by Sean Rooney, Valor Baseball Class of 2016

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

When I was younger, I always thought I was the best baseball player on the field.  I had always wanted to be the best but never really did anything special to earn that distinction.  Then, in club ball and showcase tournaments, I started to see that there were other players who were better than me.  I wasn't playing as much & I wasn't receiving the praise from my coaches as often as I had in the past.  Other players were working harder than me and were playing more because they'd grown to be better than I was.One day, I came to a fork in the road of my baseball career, I realized that I either would quit playing baseball or step up my game.  I could give up and settle for a mediocre mark on the game or I could start working hard to make myself better.  I realized how much I love the game and how much passion there is for me playing baseball.  I have a fire that burns inside of me for the game of baseball!  I told myself that no one would out work me and no one would beat me.  I couldn't settle for being mediocre or not playing.  From that point on, I have worked my hardest everyday, even on days when I don't feel like it.

I have recently come to realize that there is a perfectionist in me that has robbed some of the joy of playing this game that I love.  I have struggled with understanding that my goal to be the best led me to believe that I needed to play perfectly.  I thought that if I didn't play perfectly, that I hadn't played well enough and I needed to work harder.  That has been another turning point for me in this great game.  I have come to realize that working hard is all that I can control.  My attitude, my effort and my energy are all things I have control over.  I have no control of the outcomes, I will never be perfect.  If I put in the work and give my best every day, the rest will take care of itself.  This has given me so much more freedom to play the game and enjoy myself and get better in the process.

I remember the feeling of disappointment around expectations of perfection or of not living up to a perfectionist standard. Today I am rooted in hard work and a positive attitude.  The process has made me a better player and I rely on God more as I play.  My career has catapulted forward with the opportunity to play in college.  I couldn't do any of this on my own and have the Lord by my side to help me along the way.

If you work hard at your dream, now matter where you are or how impossible it may seem, you can achieve it with God's help and for His glory.