A 9 year old boy can teach you a lot.
This weekend we had my oldest son Owen’s end of the year baseball tournament.
Now, for the entire year, his team was not the best on the field.
They kind of looked like the Bad News Bears at times. They struggled and they got pounded in many games.
But what was amazing is that, after every game, several of the players would ask us coaches if they had won!
We wanted to ask “Were you watching the same game as us?”
This team was truly just having fun playing.
But there was frustration also.
Owen had a heck of a time hitting. He was in a major slump for much of the year. He just couldn’t connect with the ball.
And by the time we got to the tournament, he wouldn’t swing the bat.
He was just praying for a walk.
So in our second game yesterday, he struck out watching a perfect pitch go right on by.
He came back to the bench nearly in tears and told me “I can’t swing.”
And I said, sure you can….
Just swing.
But, I can’t.
Yes, you can. Did you swing the bat in warmups?
Yes.
Then you can.
But dad, I CAN’T
He had turned the awesome power of his mind into something negative.
He was so scared of striking out swinging that he just would not swing.
So I calmed him down and told him how Babe Ruth was the home run king, but he was also the strikeout king.
He wasn’t afraid to go down swinging because he was shooting for the fences.
But, DAD I REALLY can’t swing!!!!
Yes, I know you think you really can’t swing, but it’s just your mind toying with you.
You struck out a few times, and now you’re playing defense instead of attacking the ball.
Are you afraid of the ball?
No.
Good, so here is what you do.
I don’t want to see you settle for a walk. A walk can be good sometimes, but not when it’s ALL you do.
I want you to see yourself attacking that ball and knocking the cover off it.
See it in your mind’s eye, or what Dr. Maltz called, the Theatre of Your Mind.
It’s where all goals start. You must give your mind a directive. Steer it in a clear direction. Show it what you want it to do.
So I told Owen, next time he is up to bat, swing at the first pitch. I told him I don’t care where the pitch is, it could be in the dirt 10 feet in front of home plate, or it could be 3 feet over his head, but just swing like you are swinging for the fences.
So he agreed and when he was up to bat next he swung for the fences.
Totally missed the ball, but he got that bat off his shoulder and got into the game!
He looks down the line to third base (I was the third base coach), sees me and just smiles.
He CAN swing the bat!
He walked that at bat, but his next at bat…..
Well, he knocked that one into left-center field. And as he is rounding second base, the ball is coming to third.
I’m giving the signal and yelling to slide, slide, SLIDE!!
But, his mind is set on home plate and he motors right on by
Bolting for home.
His mind is set on one thing, and one thing only. A home run.
And as I’m laughing that he directly disobeyed my signals at third base, and he crosses home plate…
SAFE…
and the crowd goes wild, I get to watch his utter excitement as he runs over to his screaming teammates and says
SEE
SEE
I TOLD YOU SO!!
I TOLD YOU SO!!
Apparently he told a few of his teammates that he was going to get a home run in that last game.
I taught him, with the help of Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s Theatre of Your Mind, to see his big self.
The self that is full of energy and life.
That self that will not settle and pray for a walk, but will go down swinging if he has to because he is going for his dreams.
And it’s no different with your health.
Many people experience detox symptoms when they first start one of our programs.
It’s that feeling of striking out, that awful feeling of a fever, or a headache, or skin rashes.
But that is your body waking up.
It wants to live a better life.
YOU want to live a better life. Those are poisons that were trapped inside of you, making their way out.
And I can only assure you that it is worth it.
The temporary discomfort of toxic poison leaving your body is well worth the effort.
If you settle for the walk, and don’t get up and swing your bat, your chances of being average are very, very high.
And average when it comes to health in America is not very good.
It’s chronic disease, cancer, heart disease, and pain.
So swing your bat. Go for it, and go through some of the temporary symptoms you may experience.
It doesn’t happen to everybody, but it can happen.
Don’ t be afraid of it.
Your BIG self is inside waiting to come out.
Best,
Dr. Brant Larsen
P.S. Learning from Dr. Maxwell Maltz has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. And now I am happy to see those same lessons being applied to my kids. It’s an amazing feeling to see your kids thrive after teaching them these lessons.