21 years is a reeaaalllllly long time to be on a losing streak. But two weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates (our hometown baseball team) won their 82nd game, guaranteeing a winning season for the first time in … forever. How did it feel? Incredible!! Joyous!!! Like you were seeing the sunshine for the first time after years of darkness!!!! It was a huge milestone for the team, for the fans, and for the city of Pittsburgh.
Have you ever felt like you’ve been on a long losing streak – struggling with your health, your diet, and your exercise habits? Are you just getting started with a new program to turn things around, so you can start winning and feeling good again? If you are, or if you’re just trying to tweak a thing or two, you might find there are some lessons to be learned from the Pirates’ story.
Turnaround Plan – Pirate Style
As a follower and fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I’ve wondered what made the difference for them this year. How did they connect the dots? My conclusion: the turnaround wasn’t accomplished by doing just one thing well; it required a whole collection of people and things working well together – management, coaches, scouts, and the players on the team. Here are some analogies for a personal turnaround:
- Management – That’s you. Management needs to create the winning environment and culture. You need to provide the resources (time, money, energy), and you need to focus, to be single-minded about success.
- Coaches – Who are your coaches, your mentors, your trainers, and your support staff? Do you have any? You don’t need to go it alone. Others have experience and insight that can help, no matter where you are on your path. Dream big. Go for the best people you can find who fit your needs, your goals, and your personality.
- Scouts – Who looks for new opportunities to improve your health, diet, and exercise habits? Who is seeking new products and new services that will enhance your prospects for success? Is it you, or do you have some mavens in your life who can help? Are you networking with others who have similar goals and interests? Are you attending lifestyle conferences to learn about new research or new approaches?
- Team – Who’s on your team? Remember, you’re not the only player. You’re not alone in your efforts. If you haven’t already, enlist your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and favorite restaurant wait staffs. Look also at your current line-up. Do you like what you see, or do you need to make some trades? Maybe you need to let some people go. It may be tough, but if someone is not contributing to your success, you need to ask if they are a cause of failure. Your success is too important to let the wrong people influence you. Be brutally honest. You know who you want – and don’t want – on your team.
Once your turnaround plan is solid, you will start to win again. And when you do, you should celebrate … BIG!
Party Like a Pirate
Just this week, the Pittsburgh Pirates qualified for the playoffs – also for the first time in 21 years. And the night they qualified, the champagne flowed and sprayed everyone and everything within a one-locker-room radius (hence the need for chem lab goggles – see the video above).
Is there an analogy here for you and me? Yes! Celebrate your wins, your accomplishments – losing those 10 pounds, eating at home 5 days a week for a month, or reducing your blood pressure medication. Look around and reflect. Not many people are doing what you are, or what you have already done. Celebrate it!
Don’t get hung up on your imperfections. Don’t wait to celebrate until you’re perfect. The Pirates didn’t win every game. They lost a lot of games. They didn’t have a perfect season. And neither did you, and neither did I. But, by winning as often as they did, the Pirates made the playoffs – and they will play more games.
It might strike you that when you win more and more often (by eating well at more meals, by getting out to exercise more, etc.), you get to play more, too. This is why you play. This is why you fight the good fight and struggle to improve your health, diet, and exercise habits. Because you do, you get to live more, love more, and laugh more. You’re a winner! Strap on those goggles and celebrate – like a Pirate!!!
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...