We all can probably relate to something unexpected or surprising or disruptive happening to us or to someone in our lives. Many refer to these moments as “curveballs.” A curveball in baseball is a pitch that appears to be moving straight toward home plate but is really moving down and to the right or left. Curveballs are meant to surprise the batter. And curveballs do indeed take us by surprise when one is thrown our way. It is what we do with the curveball that makes a difference.
Take for example one of the curveballs dealt actor John Corbett. John is an American actor who was born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia (and who, by the way, was inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame in 2004). After graduating from Wheeling Central High School, John worked as a delivery boy earning $2.65 an hour. His dad, who lived in California, had offered to help him find a job in the steel industry out there and taking his dad up on an offer, John traveled to California with some buddies. Shortly after arriving, he began work at Kaiser Steel in Fontana, making very good money as a hydrotester (made sure the welds were tight on the huge pipes the company made). According to John, “Then one day some pipes came off the assembly line and hit me in the back. Next thing I knew, I was on disability, walking with a cane, popping painkillers. Manual labor was out of the question. What was I going to do with my life now?”
Can you relate? Ever asked yourself, “What am I going to do with my life now?” Any of us who have dealt with a curveball have probably uttered those words or had that thought. And how we respond to that question makes all the difference in our lives. John Corbett responded by attending acting classes at Cerritos Community College. He found that he had a passion for acting. He was good at it. He found joy in it. As he says, “I’m the least likely guy to end up in several hit TV series, let alone star in a Hollywood movie. Me, a blue-collar kid from West Virginia.”
We can all be like John and hit the rare curveball out of the park if we take the right approach to the “pitch.” It is our response to the curveball (and I am sure there will be many that cross our path) that makes all the difference in the world. We:
- Cannot walk away from the curveball.
- Need to accept “the pitch,” make adjustments, and move on.
- Need to approach it with a calm and open mind.
- Need to take control of our emotions.
- Should view the curveball as an opportunity and use it as a teachable moment; learn from it.
- Have to find the joy in the unexpected; look for the positive.
- Can laugh and look for the humor in the situation.
- Need to take time to clear our mind and open our heart; take a deep breath and calm down.
- Have to keep moving and in a forward direction.
- Must adopt a ‘this too shall pass’ perspective.
- Need to approach the curveball as a challenge rather than as a burden.
- Can make a list of options for what to do.
- Should try to gain perspective on what happened and keep things in perspective (this is but one pitch in our life).
- We must not personalize the situation.
- Can ask questions to gain information that will help us move forward.
- Can smile.
Curveballs. Something we would rather not come our way, but more than likely, we will all deal with our share of them. Remember, it is our choice how we deal or react or respond to the curveballs. And, how we react determines what happens to us. We can choose to allow the curveball to paralyze us. We can hole up somewhere and do absolutely nothing. We can choose to allow the curveball to get us down, blanketing us in negative emotions (sadness, anger, fear, etc.) turning us into unhappy people. Or, we can choose to make the best of the curveball, finding the positive in it, and moving onward and upward.
As Brian Tracy (motivational speaker and self-development author) tells us, “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” Our response will define our quality of life (paralyzed and immobilized; negative and unhappy, or positive and making the best of everything). We need to not let what happens to us dictate our response. We can learn to deal positively and productively with the curveballs in our life just as John Corbett did!
Author Becky Johnen 