Shifting to High Gear

With the Holiday season coming to a close, a new season is set to begin. I know it's only December, but for a professional baseball player the start of the new year means that spring training is right around the corner. I like to devote this last week of the year to family and friends knowing that in a very short time I will be fully entrenched in a new baseball season. That being said, I find it important to use the new year as my indicator that the offseason is officially OVER....Baseball activities such as: throwing, baserunning, hitting, and fielding become more prevalent within my daily training routine. The 2012 baseball season starts now....Great players become great with the things they do before the season ever starts when nobody is watching! Play Hard & Work Harder!!!

Hint, Hint...Your Manager and Coaches Want You to Know the History of Baseball

The winter months are a great time to begin to better familiarize yourself with the history of the game you so dearly love.  Impress your coaches and surprise your manager with the facts and figures you share with them and your teammates.

For example, did you know Americans began playing baseball on informal teams, using local rules, in the early 1800s. By the 1860s, the sport, unrivaled in popularity, was being described as America's "national pastime."  Do you think it still is America's national pastime?  Why or why not?  If you answered 'no', consider what you and your teammates can do to restore baseball to once again be our "national pastime." 

Now back to some history:

Alexander Cartwright

Alexander Cartwright (1820-1892) of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845. Alexander Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, devised the first rules and regulations that were accepted for the modern game of baseball.  Click on this link to learn more about the history of baseball, and don't forget to share your knowledge with others on your team. Help them learn and grow, too! 

Top Performers’ Newsletter - Dec 2011

Developing mindsets and habits that fuel high performance

Convierte te en el ‘Chico de Pegamento’ de la Proxima Temporada

Jugadores que toman un papel activamente  como un líder de equipo son el corazón y el alma de una organización próspera.  Se convierten en la fuerza que impulsa a sus equipos avanzar hacia el éxito.  En los deportes, estos chicos suelen ser llamados Chicos de Pegamento.  En el entorno de altas conpetencias de deportes profesionales, los equipos pueden desintegrarse rápidamente bajo las presiones diarias del juego.  ¡Los Chicos Pegamento  mantienen a sus compañeros juntos cuando las situaciones se ponen muy duras y ayudan a sus equipos a prosperar!

Una buena forma de ser el Chico Pegamento del equipo es utilizar lo que es llamado un estilo explicativo optimista en lugar de un estilo explicativo pesimista cuando su equipo se encuentra con esos golpes imprevistos e inesperados en la carretera.  Primero analicemos  un estilo explicativo optimista y despues cómo uno pesimista difiere de un optimista.

Estilo explicativo - un estilo explicativo es un atributo psicológico que indica cómo personas explican a ellos mismos y a otros por qué experimentan un evento concreto.  Estilos explicativos pueden ser optimista o pesimista.  Tres componentes conforman el estilo explicativo.  Vamos a echar un vistazo más cercano a cada uno de ellos y ver cómo puede utilizar un estilo explicativo optimista para convertirse en pegamento Guy su equipo.

Personal - Se trata de cómo una persona explica donde surge la causa de un evento.  Por ejemplo, un jugador con un estilo explicativo pesimista ve a sí mismo como la única causa de un evento.  Podrias  oírle decir, "Siempre tengo problemas para golpear esa tirada. Un jugador con un estilo explicativo optimista diría, "A veces tengo problemas para golpear esas tiradas, y el viento lo hizo aún más difícil este día".

Permanente - Se trata de cómo uno explica el alcance de la causa.  Un jugador con un estilo explicativo pesimista expicaria la situación como inalterable y comentaria al equipo, "Nunca ganamos partidos en este estadio".  Por otro lado, un jugador con un estilo explicativo optimista diría, "Hemos perdido más juegos que ganados aquí en el pasado, pero vamos a cambiar  hoy y ganemos una victoria!"

Generalizada - Se trata de cómo se explica el alcance de los efectos.  Por ejemplo, si uno de los lanzadores  es puesto en la lista de lesionados, el jugador con el estilo explicativo pesimista  comentaria, "Se aruino el resto de la temporada para nosotros."  El jugador utilizando un estilo explicativo optimista respondería a ese comentario diciendo "El esta en la lista de lesionados perjudicará a nuestro equipo, pero podemos ayudar en muchas otras maneras".

De hecho, investigación ha vinculado un estilo explicativo pesimista a depresión, enfermedad física y a lesiones, que no ayudan al jugador o al  equipo.  Estudios de atletas colegiales nadadores  a jugadores de béisbol profesional muestran que el estilo explicativo predice el rendimiento deportivo.  Utilizando un estilo explicativo optimista te ayudará a combertirte en el Chico Pegamento del equipo y apoyar el éxito de tu equipo.

İHas este  objetivo una resolusion de Año Nuevo y    convierte te  en el  Chico Pegamento de  TU equipo!

Fuente:  La Aventura de la Felicidad por  Shawn Achor

Cuidate,

Jerry Hairston, Jr.                       Lynn R. Miller, Ed.D.

Board Chair & Co-Fundador             Presidenta & Co-Fundadora

Top Performers’ Newsletter                                                      December 2011 Vol. 1, No. 12

Developing mindsets and habits that fuel high performance.

Become Next Season’s ‘Glue Guy’

Players who actively take on the role as a team leader are the heart and soul of a thriving organization.  They become the force that drives their teams forward toward success.  In sports, these guys are often called Glue Guys.  In the high-stakes environment of professional sports, teams can quickly disintegrate under the daily pressures of the game.  Glue Guys keep their teammates together when things get tough and help their teams thrive!

A great way to become your team’s Glue Guy is to utilize what’s called an optimistic explanatory style as opposed to a pessimistic explanatory style when your team encounters those unforeseen and unexpected bumps in the road.  Let’s first look at what an explanatory style is, and then how a pessimistic one differs from an optimistic one.

Explanatory Style - An explanatory style is a psychological attribute that indicates how people explain to themselves and others why they experience a particular event.  Explanatory styles can be either optimistic or pessimistic.  Three components—personal, permanent, & pervasive—make up one’s explanatory style.  Let’s take a closer look at each of them and see how you can use an optimistic explanatory style to become your team’s Glue Guy.

Personal - This involves how a person explains where the cause of an event arises.  For example, a player using a pessimistic explanatory style sees himself as the sole cause of an event.  You might hear him say, "I always have trouble hitting that pitch.” In contrast, a player with an optimistic explanatory style would say, "I sometimes have trouble hitting that pitch, and the wind made it even more difficult today.”

Permanent - This involves how one explains the extent of the cause.  A player with a pessimistic explanatory style would see the situation as unchangeable and comment to the team, “We never win games at this stadium.”  On the other hand, a player with an optimistic explanatory style would say, “We may have lost more games than we won here in the past, but let’s turn that around today and get a win!”

Pervasive - This involves how one explains the extent of the effects.  For example, if one of your starting pitchers is put on the disabled list, the player with the pessimistic explanatory style would comment, “That blows the rest of the season for us.”  The player using an optimistic explanatory style would respond to that comment by saying, “Well, having him on the disabled list will hurt our team, but we can pick up the slack in lots of other ways.”

In fact, research has linked a pessimistic explanatory style to depression, physical illness and injury, which doesn’t help the player or the team.  Studies of athletes from collegiate swimmers to professional baseball players show that explanatory style predicts athletic performance.  Using an optimistic explanatory style will help you become your team’s Glue Guy and support your team’s success.

Make it Your New Year’s Goal to become Next Season’s Glue Guy!

Source:  The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

Take Care,

Jerry Hairston, Jr.                              Lynn R. Miller, Ed.D.

Board Chair & Co-Founder                     President & Co-Founder
Extra Innings Foundation                         Extra Innings Foundation