My son's Little League team has made a lot of defensive mistakes this season. Additionally, my son's Little League team has had a hard time scoring runs this season. This combination is less-than-ideal in terms of trying to win baseball games.
It's less-than-ideal because there is little margin for error. Every Little League team makes a lot of defensive mistakes. Some teams are able to overcome some of those mistakes by scoring lots of runs. Our team is still getting there.
Errors and mistakes are a part of baseball. So a margin for those errors is essential. When the team must play a perfect game in order to have a chance to win, that team is going to lose 99% of the time.
And the same goes for life.
We all need a margin for error because we all make errors and mistakes. When we're trying to be perfect, we end up making more errors and more mistakes. The pressure not to make mistakes can be debilitating.
A margin for error in life usually shows itself in the form of time.
Think about the last time you were running late. You needed to leave at 4pm, but you didn't get out the door until 4:05. Half-way down the street you realized you forgot something, so you turn around to get it and make yourself even more late. Your whole drive is stressful and you made yourself look bad by showing up late.
There was no margin for error (forgetting something) because you left late. And if you did an audit of your time leading up to your desired 4pm departure, you could probably find several minutes (or more) of wasted time (scrolling through social media, checking email for the 41st time, etc.).
Today, let's remember to build in some margin for error. We are going to make some mistakes, so let's try to prevent those mistakes from costing us too much.
Make it a great day!
Coach Chris