I have loved baseball for as long as I can remember. I lived and breathed the game for most of my childhood, and my sights were set on being a big leaguer. That was until I was humbled by a curveball. Have you ever faced a skilled pitcher’s curveball? As a 15-year-old freshman on my first day of varsity baseball, I faced a menacing 18-year-old senior.
As I stepped into the batter’s box full of confidence and belief in myself, I caught a wry smile come across his face as he took non-verbal instructions from the coach. Seconds later his wind up produced a baseball hurtling towards my head faster than anything had ever been thrown at me. Of course, I dropped to the dirt only to hear “steeeerike!” I jumped to my feet in disbelief as the ball was clearly coming at my head and not the strike zone. As I dusted off my pants I realized everyone was laughing at my expense including the coaches and pitcher. The catcher leaned over to me and asked, “was that your first curveball?” Indeed it was, and I vowed in that second to never let another curveball put me to the dirt. Since that moment I learned to hit the curveball. To wait patiently for the right time that the ball breaks, slows down, and then I could put it into right field. I didn’t hit every one after that, but I never dropped again.
Life throws curveballs at us all the time. The same grit and courage it takes to face a pitcher’s curveball is the same qualities it takes to handle life’s curveballs. The global pandemic of the past two years has produced numerous curveballs for me as I am sure it has for you. For more than four years I have worked to strengthen and elevate a hotel management company as their Vice President of Operations. This included navigating life’s curveballs in a variety of ways before, and certainly after, the Covid curveball. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of my control that company was unable to survive the present economic impact of the pandemic and I was left facing another of life’s menacing curveballs. The good news is that once you recognize a curveball, it’s not too difficult to hit one.
Stay tuned for part 2.