Most of you know that I am a baseball guy so I wanted to discuss what we can learn from one of the greatest…Yogi Berra. Yogi was a great ballplayer, he was also a winner…appearing in 14 World Series and winning 10 Championships. He was also amazingly consistent as a 15 time All-Star and only striking out 12 times in 597 at-bats in the 1950 season. Most of us know Yogi from his legendary quotes that will stand the test of time. As I was reflecting today about this election I thought we could all learn a lot from Yogi. Both from his quotes and from his astonishing consistency which led to a great career. So here are a few Yogi quotes fitting for our current political environment and an excerpt from Yogi’s book.
'When you come to a fork in the road, take it.’
‘If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.’
‘It's like déjà vu all over again.’
‘It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.’
From www.sportsforthesoul.com/yogi-berra-choose-your-own-attitude
There are many things we don’t control in life. That’s a sometimes painful fact we all have to accept. But, as Yogi Berra points out, it’s the things we DO have control over that determine our success or failure… I think your life depends on your attitude. How you face things says a lot about you and about how people treat you, a lot about what you can do and can’t do, a lot about your happiness or unhappiness. You are what you think; maybe that’s why some people need attitude adjustments. Nobody can be smiley all the time, but having a good positive attitude isn’t something to shrug off. There are lots of things you can’t control, but how you respond to those things is the one thing you can control. It’s easy to worry about all the things we have no control over—things that went wrong in the past, things that might go wrong in the future, things that are out of our hands. But what do those worries accomplish? Nothing! Worrying about the things you can’t control only stresses you out, wears you down, and hurts your performance in the present moment. It also tends to make you unpleasant to be around. Stop worrying about the things you can’t control and start focusing on the things you DO control. Most importantly, recognize that you have total control over the attitude you choose to embrace. No matter what happened in the past or what might happen in the future, you can decide right now whether you want to have a positive, can-do attitude or a negative, what’s-the-use attitude.
– Yogi Berra, from his book What Time Is It? You Mean Now?
I think we all feel a bit of stress and anxiety of the unknown. As Yogi points out we can only control our attitude and our effort. We can do our jobs to the best or our ability, we can teach our kids and grandkids the values we believe in, we can treat our neighbors with the Golden Rule. We can be positive in the face of some of the adversity we have seen. If we are consistent with just those little things we will find continued success in life. After all, ‘the future ain’t what it used to be’
Keith