Believin Ain't Braggin

Believin Ain’t Braggin
By David Stoddard

I just knew how things would end up. And it was a first for me.

It was the sixth year I had been bowling in our Sunday Night mixed league. Over the past couple of seasons, my name would be on the list of the high average folks, but usually I would be in fifth or sixth place about 10 pins off the average leader.

This time around, I had started the season off alright. It was a tad below my usual average of 190, but still fairly ok for not bowling for the past three months. Historically, I would start out the season bowling out of my head, or bowling as if this were golf and the lower the score, the better. I didn’t plan it that way, but sometimes it just happens.

It was the fifth week of the season and our team had just won all three games that night. I drove home on that warm September evening with the windows down, the wind in my hair, and my mind reaching a conclusion of what was to be.

When I got home, I told my mom and dad that I was going to win the high average title. Mind you, going into that night, I was still down 15 pins in average after 12 previous games. Not to mention I had not even been that close to winning the title over the years.

Long story short, I did win the average title by 9 pins over the second place person (I averaged 201, for those wanting to know). It was pretty much a done deal with still 10 weeks left. (30 games to go out of 105).

I tell this not because I am bragging about something I have done recently. This took place in 1989/1990. I mention this story because it’s about what we can do when we believe.

It’s about knowing, somehow, someway, that you are going to succeed at something. That you are putting in the effort and the time into something that you just know is going to come true.

That season was about winning the average title. It was about being consistent, improving a little bit each week, and about seeing the outcome long before it was in reach.

Yes, there were the occasional “bad” nights where the pins just wouldn’t fall. Where my plans for a given evening didn’t work out as hoped. But it didn’t bother me (too much). I just came back the next week and let it roll.

So how does this story relate to what this column is about? Again, it’s about seeing the outcome you want long before it is in reach.

You may not be able to run a mile at the moment, but you can see yourself doing it in the near future. You may not be able to fit into your jeans at the moment, but you can see yourself slipping into them in the near future. You may not be in the job you want, but you can see yourself moving over into that position in the near future.

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(c) David Stoddard - All Rights Reserved

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