Last night, the most incredible baseball game to ever take place during my lifetime- and many other lifetimes- took place. The Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians, 8-7, winning Game 7 of the World Series and laying to rest a 108-year title drought. Far better writers and more knowledgeable people than I have written and will continue to write about the epicness of the game. And trust me- this game was epic. If you haven't seen it, then you missed out on something extremely special that reminded me why sports are so magical. But there was one moment, among all the magic, that really stood out to me. Jon Lester, the Cubs' best pitcher, a man who is almost set to win the Cy Young Award, came into the game. There was much controversy- because he came in with a runner on, a "dirty inning", as the announcers called it. And why was that a problem? Lester, you see, doest not throw to first base to try and pick runners off. Ever. According to my Cubs-fan friend Jerry, a few years ago in a playoff game, Lester threw twice to first and committed errors, and ever since then he's been unable to psychologically muster the courage to throw to first. Here's a man who can throw a baseball precisely at almost 100 mph a distance further than from the plate to first, as he does over and over again on every pitch- and yet he can't make a simple throw to first. They've hired sports psychologists to try and help him get over it, but it's a lingering phobia that he simply cannot overcome. And it got me thinking- what are the "pickoff moves" that we simply cannot do? Why are there things that stand in our way, and where did those things come from? We were all wondering whether perhaps this could even have been a con, and he was waiting for the perfect moment to unleash his true potential- and surely here it was, the World Series game 7, the moment we'd all been waiting for. But no, he didn't do that. But then, at one point, the ball got hit to him. Here was a moment of redemption- in order to get the out, he'd have to throw the ball to first. It looked like he was about to lift his arm over his head and throw- but no, he dropped his arm and underhanded it to first. But it got there. He may not have done it in the prettiest fashion, he may not have looked incredibly skilled while doing it, but lester was able to get the ball to first for the out. This simple act had so much significance to it. He was able to do what he needed to do by adjusting and doing things slightly differently, in a way that worked for him. And he was able to - if briefly, and incompletely- get over a deep-seated fear and do what he needed to do to help the people around him. That's what we need to do more of in our lives. We need to be able to do what we need to do, however works for us. We need to accept our limitations and overcome them however we can. And we need to make sure that, whatever we may be comfortable or uncomfortable with, we're able to put others before ourselves and do what those who count on us are relying on us for. If we could all just be a little more like Lester, then we'd all be a lot better off 

Let's Start Writing!

I know it's not the first day of November- it's the third. I take responsibility for being two days behind the times. But- a little belatedly, admittedly- I have resolved to write a blog post every day in November. They'll be short- 500 words or so max- and have something to do with what happened in my life or the world on that day, or come from thoughts swirling around my head. November is technically supposed to be national novel writing month- and I still think I may try and work on that too- but I'm going to make it my own National Blog Posting Month and start sharing out some daily thoughts with anyone who wants to read them. Hope you enjoy!

Happy November,
Josh