Very often, we find ourselves slipping back into habits that no longer serve us in our pursuit of success.
And it’s extremely difficult to pull ourselves out of these routines because once the pattern starts to become engrained, we repeat it, which only makes the possibility of escaping much more unlikely.
Habits are habits because, in many ways, they’re simply easier in the moment.
One of the greatest challenges in learning is that learning requires us to break old habits and walk away from what we once thought we knew. It rewires our instincts and allows us to have a new perspective of the world.
A community and a curriculum can make a huge difference.
One of the reasons why we created Infinite Baseball is because we believe that, with the support a community of like-minded individuals and the design of a well-researched and tested curriculum, we can help facilitate the process of learning the essential information about this sport. We didn’t just want to be a place where we delivered you the knowledge that you needed. We wanted to become a resource for habit-breaking, habit-forming, rut-reducing, practical and valuable content.
And the best way to break a habit is to model and then commit to a new habit. So we wanted to share with you a short list of habits that, done consistently, will dramatically accelerate your baseball/softball progress.
Some of our favorite habits include but are not limited to:
- Doing Extra Work Outside of Practice
- Track Everything (Measure Your Results)
- Studying Baseball/Softball Games
- Take Notes of Successes & Failures
- Physical Fitness (Exercise & Stretch)
Doing extra work outside of practice is a habit that will immediately set you apart from your peers. Most baseball/softball players, and most people in general, are complacent with doing the bare minimum. However, mediocre effort often yields mediocre results. By doing a little bit of extra work after each baseball/softball practice, your progress will compound over an extended period of time. For example, if you could commit to taking swings for an extra 30 minutes a day after your scheduled practice, then after a year of honoring this commitment, you will have had an extra 10,950 minutes of practice. In other words, you will have completed an extra 182 hours of practice to further distancing yourself from your competition. Spend a little bit of time after each practice developing your skills and you will surely see the fruits of your labor quicker than you may have imagined.
Track Everything. Measuring your results is a great way to make constant improvement. By measuring performance, you track the information necessary to better understand what must improve in order for you to meet your goals. My favorite example of this is a high score in a video game. Once you know what the high score is, you are aware of exactly the number you need to beat. Measuring results such as velocity or distance in baseball/softball is no different. Test yourself to see where you currently stand and constantly retest and remeasure to determine whether or not you are making the progress you seek to make.
Study Baseball/Softball Games. This is one that we see a lot of our younger players missing the boat on. We see that so many baseball/softball players are so passionate about playing the game but lack the same desire to watch the players who are playing at the level they aspire to be at. Studying baseball/softball games gives you tremendous insight as to how the game is played and can serve as a form of preparation for what is to come. You can learn from how collegiate and professional players carry themselves on and off the field, how they approach certain situations within the game, how they prepare for at-bats, how defenses align at different points of the game. There is a wealth of information and valuable lessons that can be learned from watching games that many players simply aren’t taking advantage of.
Take notes of your successes and failures during practices and games. Whether these be mental or physical notes, it’s incredibly beneficial to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Especially in this sport where there is such a slim margin for error. Try to remember how certain pitchers approached your at-bats as future pitchers will often try to exploit the same weaknesses. If you’re a pitcher, try to recall the pitches or locations in which hitters did the most damage to you or the ones that hitters had difficulty making contact with. These moments within the game can serve as great indicators of the strengths you should build upon or the weaknesses you should spend time correcting.
Physical Fitness is often the easiest quality to recognize when analyzing baseball players or any athlete, for that matter. “Passing the eye test” can open up a lot of opportunities for you in this sport, but the value of exercising and stretching extends far beyond just looking good. Spending time to invest in the performance of your body will decrease the probability of injury and allow you to get the most out of yourself in every area. The best players in baseball/softball are typically those who run fast, hit hard, and/or throw hard. And the way you outperform other players in these areas is by training your body properly to execute the complex movements required of this sport. Proper nutrition, consistent exercise and stretching are a lethal combination for peak performance.
Adding these habits to your daily routine will certainly bring about some profound results that you’ll thank yourself for in the long run. Give it a shot and let us know about your experience. We’d also love to hear your thoughts about other good habits that you would consider adding to our list!