How To Fuel Your Passion For Softball

Do you love softball? Do you have a strong attachment, affection, or devotion to the game? Do you hold the game dear to you and thrive in it? If you answered yes, then congratulations! You are in love with your sport! If you couldn’t answer yes, then you may need to take some time to reflect on why you play the game.

At some point in your career, you may forget why you play and forget what this game does for you. It is in those moments where remembering what you love about this sport can lift you through the rough or boring times. This process can even renew your passion and ignite your fire. Keep reading to learn specific techniques to fuel your passion for softball.

Reflect To Connect

Remembering positive emotions and memories can help propel you through rough times in your sport. Let’s just go ahead and admit that playing a sport can be grueling and often, the repetitive nature of practicing skills can dim your fire for the sport.

You may know the value of remembering “your why,” your reasons for playing the sport, and that’s important for success too. But what I’m talking about here is remembering positive emotions and memories. Some of these memories may very well be your “why” for playing the sport, but some memories may just be good memories of softball. These memories remind you of what you enjoy about this sport like a funny play that happened, a fun experience with the team during an away trip, that time you won the at-bat in a big moment, or even the time a coach said something to you that meant a lot.

Take a few minutes and let yourself remember a few specific, good memories. It is easy for us to gloss over memories, so give yourself time to let yourself feel what you felt during those moments and try to recall details. The emotions attached to your memories create a more powerful effect than just the memory alone.

Adopt An Attitude Of Gratitude

I have written on gratitude previously (see How To Break Out Of A Softball Rut? Find Gratitude), and gratitude is another tool that can help you fall in love with this sport. First, you have to think about what you appreciate about the game and the people in it.

One way to get you thinking is to try this activity: Grab a piece of softball equipment. Try to hold a softball, your glove, or your bat. Once you have your equipment, draw your attention to the object. Take a moment to zoom in on how the object feels in your hand. Run your other hand over the object and notice the bumps, seams, and texture. As you are holding this object, think about the smells and sounds that come to mind as you focus.

For example, if you are holding a glove, you may smell the leather, or perhaps the smell of freshly cut outfield grass comes to mind. Let your mind take you to the senses you experience. Next, think about the first good memory that comes to mind about softball as you are holding this object. Let yourself remember (and feel the emotions). Then, ask yourself what you are grateful for about softball. Finally, extend that thought by telling yourself why you are thankful for what you stated. You can do this on your own or with others.

Write It Out

One way to experience your love for softball is to tell the game what you feel. Yes, you read that correctly, tell the sport what you love about it. This is also a way you can practice gratitude. For this exercise, grab some paper and a pen and handwrite a love letter to softball. Write this letter as if you were going to actually give this letter to someone.

Write this letter with purpose. Edit your writing and create a final letter free of mistakes and in letter format. Decorate your letter as you feel and have fun with it. When you are done, read your letter out loud and let yourself go with the emotions and memories that come up as you read. Keep this letter in a place where you can read it as you need to. Many clients I work with keep one in their bat bag, and they read it when they need a pick-me-up.

When you find yourself in a lull or not enjoying the sport, pick one of these strategies to try. But, beware! You may find yourself on fire for the sport again after.

Dr. Megan Buning is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (C.M.P.C.) with over a decade of experience training the mental game.