Consistency is a staple of all successful people— consistent approach, work ethic and attitude. Ups and downs, peaks and valleys in effort, performance and production are the results of poor personal discipline, especially with your emotions. When you lack personal control it degrades the quality or your thought, judgement and behavior. Your decisions are altered.
Self control contributes to all areas that matter, for example: class work, nutrition, weight room, skill drills etc. The game of baseball is a game of failure. Learning to control your emotions after a bad AB, an error, or pitch is only going to lend yourself to future successes, like the next pitch, AB, or ground ball.
Learning that if you are giving your best effort and being honest with your self assessment of that will give you a peace of mind and free you of these emotional swings. As well, when you perform well self control keeps you from gloating and allows you to act as if you have done it before.
Key Points:
Focus on things you can control, instead of non-controllable things like umpires, field conditions, fans, etc
The one thing you have complete control over is YOU. You have control over what you think, how you feel, your attitude, your emotions, how you treat other people, your work effort, etc..
But, you are also RESPONSIBLE for controlling yourself. NO ONE ELSE CAN DO IT!
You cannot control the past. And, you cannot control the future — you can influence it, but you cannot control it.
The time period that you have complete control over is RIGHT NOW, the present.
In baseball, the only thing that matters in the NEXT PITCH.
Any time and energy you spend on NON-CONTROLLABLES, or on the PAST or FUTURE is not productive.
SELF-CONTROL is about FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL, RIGHT NOW, IN THE PRESENT.
Please watch this great video from Dr. Tom Hanson:
