Slumps, Swinging & Skiing

Some weeks are awesome. You hit that flow state. Time flies but you feel wildly productive. Your routine is pristine. You eat well. You sleep better. The feelings of stress & anxiety are a distant stranger from the past that you vaguely remember, but can’t put a face to. Those weeks rule. Stack them when you can.

I’m not having one of those weeks. I’m stressed. Definitely anxious. The dominos are not falling my way. My sleep schedule is out of sync. My eating is shitty. And exercise is quite literally the last thing I want to do.

It sucks. I hate slumps. When I used to play baseball, especially as a kid, a slump was my arch nemesis. Baseball is already a failing sport (if you get a hit 30% of the time, you’re a Hall of Famer). So, when you’d hit a cold streak, it really stung the ego. After a game, I’d get in the car with my dad & go silent. Running through every at bat, strike out, error, bad decision I made over the last 2 hours. I wouldn’t want to stop for ice cream or pizza, I’d wanna go home and cry.

Welcome to week 43 of Trust Fun. Let’s talk about slumps & chasing high fastballs.

So how did I get over slumps as a 7th grader?

Luckily, after each game, it usually ended up with an hour long drive with me and my dad, and a Kenny Chesney CD.

Let me take a quick step back… My two sports growing up were baseball & ski racing. Candidly, I don’t know why… Both sports were absolutely terrible for my self-esteem. In baseball, you were constantly failing (as I mentioned above), & in ski racing, you only got about 1 minute to make it or break it. I’d fall all the time. My ski would pop off or I’d miss a turn. And boom, just like that it’s all over. No do-overs, no second chances. You then would pack up the skis & go home.

Here’s a video of me eating shit in 2011.

Back to my dad. Since he was the one driving me to all these games & races, he had to constantly deal with my sulking. But luckily, he figured me out. If we were driving back from me going 0-4 at the plate & making 3 errors, he’d always tell me:

“Cael… who cares? You’re a skier. That’s your thing. No one on that field can ski like you.”

And if I fell during a ski race he’d say:

“Pshh, skiing? Baseball is your thing. Think any of those kids can hit a ball like you? You’re a baseball player.”

It was genius. Every time, it worked. Lesson #1: Make your kids play more than 1 sport. Every time I believed him & bought in. During ski season, I was a baseball player. And during baseball season, I was a skier.

My brain would immediately look forward to baseball or ski season, not backwards at what had just happened in the game or race. Remembering what else you do well can be a super power & an incredible way to avoid falling into a slump.

As an adult, it’s a bit harder. When something shitty happens at work, I don’t have an entirely separate career in the winter I can switch my mind over & look forward to.

That’s why I’m such an advocate for side hustles. It gives you that same opportunity to change the brain over to something else your doing. Something other people around you maybe aren’t.

So when I’m being a shitty jeans salesman, I can remember that I’m a really good newsletter writer & hat maker.

Some friends rocking trust fun baby:

Buy yours here: trustfun.com.

Also, here’s a video of me skiing a little better 🙂 

That’s all today. Find something to look forward to.