The Other 60 Percent.

"If you had starting doing anything two weeks ago, by today you would have been two weeks better at it."

If there is one common thing I have noticed throughout the past 18 months of giving lessons and running clinics, it's the incredible amount of fear that comes along with playing sports.

Fear of making mistakes.
Fear of trying something new.
Fear of being uncomfortable.
Fear of what others will think.
And ultimately, fear of failing.

Fears, so many fears. I had them myself. I have them myself. As a player, as a woman, as a human. And boy, are they limiting.

Our head coach for the Bandits, Mike Steuerwald, stopped by my office the other week and told me a cool story about a specific Navy Seal. Long story short, he said that when you think you are done, when you think it is time to quit, when you think that there is literally absolutely NOTHING left in your tank, when you think you couldn't possibly go a STEP further... scientists have proved that you still have 60% left in your tank.

SIXTY PERCENT.

Your mind is a terrible thing. What you think is what you believe, for better or for worse.

But you know that, you've heard that before.

And here I am, a woman full of fears and a brain and heart trying to subdue them, with a platform designed to teach kids how to overcome their fears. I used to shy away from the fact that I couldn't possibly teach young women how to overcome their fears, or force them to make adjustments, or tell them it's okay to be uncomfortable, when I hadn't quite figured it out myself yet.

And then I made a mistake at a camp. I was demoing a drill one Saturday afternoon and I completely botched it. I did the opposite of everything I had just spent 20 minutes explaining to them. I wish I could have photographed their reactions. One was shocked, one smiled, one laughed, one looked nervous, one looked absolutely mortified (kids do the darndest things, you know) ... and that was a pivotal moment in my career as a clinician, in my career as an instructor, in my career as a player, but most importantly, in my career as a role model. How I handled that moment of failure in front of dozens of little girls -- who think I am superwoman as a professional athlete and make no mistakes whatsoever -- no doubt would change their perspective of me, of the game, of their failures and of life.

First, I laughed.
Second, I said, "Oh, did you think I don't make mistakes, too?"
Third, I asked them specifically what they saw that caused my mistake (making sure they were paying attention to the last 20 minutes)
And lastly, on my next swing I made every single adjustment they mentioned, and nailed it.

I followed up my swing with a simple question, "Do you think I got to where I am today, with this orange Bandits jersey on, without making mistakes?!"

And in that moment, I wish a second photograph was taken as relief -- pure relief -- showed across every single kid's face.

I am not perfect, nor will I ever claim to be, nor will I ever become perfect. But what brought me to this level is my ability to make mistakes and learn how to fix them. Set judgment of myself aside and focus on the process required to not make the same mistake twice. A process that took years to recognize, and then a few more to solidify. A process that took me from a good slapper who makes adjustments from each at-bat, to a great slapper who can make adjustments from pitch-to-pitch.

If you do not allow yourself the space to get uncomfortable, you will never make mistakes.
If you do not allow yourself the grace to make mistakes, you will never learn how to make adjustments.
If you do not allow yourself the ability to make adjustments, you will never know the difference between good and great.
And if you do not allow yourself to let go of the fear of the unknown...
The unknown that lies between good and great...

You will never find what might become of you in the other 60% of your tank.

"Fail fast. Fail often." Then adjust, and thrive!


Always with a smile,
@EAllard24