291. Starting Something New: Bruce’s First Baseball Game + What Kids Can Teach Us About Being a Beginner

SPEAKER_01: Hey friend, welcome to the Start Scared Podcast, where we are mamas who are wanting, craving, meaning more in our lives outside of just being a mom. We love our babies, but man, have we lost ourselves in the chaos of everyday mom life. My name is Christy, and I'm a wife, mama, a teacher, an Indian gram sticks, and a projector who used to be bound by what I thought I was supposed to say, do, or be. So much so that I'm trying to discover who Christy is right now in real time. Together, we're gonna have honest and real conversations, just like girlfriends chatting over a cocktail or a coffee on the back porch. We're gonna cut through the BS stories we tell ourselves and find clarity to start scared by putting ourselves first. Because girl, who you are outside of being a mom still matters. It is time that we live out the dreams and the desires that God has placed on our hearts, even if we don't know what that is quite yet. But I got you. We're in this together. So grab your drink, meet me on the back porch, and let's do this. Hey friends, welcome back to Start Scared. Today's episode I have a very special guest sitting beside me. He is 11 years old. He is a Minecraft lover, he is a Lego builder and a professional chicken thing no chicken fries eater, right? SPEAKER_00: And now he is I don't eat chicken fries anymore. You don't? I like Burger King ones. And I like them air fried, not microwave mine. SPEAKER_01: I know. Well, it was 10 o'clock at night. Anyway, and now he's a baseball player. Welcome, my son Bruce. Bruce says hi. Yesterday, or not yesterday, this week, past week, Bruce played his very first baseball game. And I knew before we even left the field that I wanted him to talk about it because he worked so hard watching your kids do something for the first time and feel the feeling of pride and um how hard he worked. And um, you know, this just was so much more than a baseball game, right? Like he walked his first at bat, he struck out his second at-bat. He told me that the pitcher was throwing really fast. So um he didn't really know when to swing. So we're gonna work on his private lessons coach with that a little bit. He made a great stop in right field. He didn't catch the ball, but he stopped it from from continuing to go. Um, his name is the part, his team's name is the party animals, and they have been to uh playing together for years. Bruce has um one other uh friend on his team who's never played baseball before, and they're so encouraging to them. They cheer them on, they give them tips and tricks, they are so kind about it. Nobody ever makes them feel like they don't belong. Coaches, teammates, they're all just they're really, really great. And then at the first game, he had an incredible cheering section. I sent his schedule to a ton of people in our family and friend group, and everybody wanted to come to the first game. So we had family, we had friends, we had so many people cheering in the stands for him. We had signs made. Um, and you know, I just as I watched him out there, I couldn't help but think about how often adults make starting something new way harder than it should be. Even for me, when Bruce told me he wanted to start playing baseball, I was like, Are you sure you're 11 and you've never played before? But, you know, because we think that we should already know how to play. We think that, or we think that everyone else is like already ahead of us. We think that we're gonna look stupid if we mess up, raise your hands if you feel this this way, you know, striking out means that we're failing, which is so not true. And then you watch this brave, courageous 11-year-old walk out on the baseball field, and it makes me realize that the point isn't to be good yet. The point is just starting, even if you're scared. And so today, instead of me talking all about how proud I am and all of the things that Bruce did on the baseball field, I am going to let Bruce tell you all about his first game. All right, Bruce, let's start at the very beginning. What made you decide that you wanted to play baseball? Um, I just felt like it, I guess. You felt like it, you guess? But you hadn't wanted to play before. So what made you change your mind? SPEAKER_00: I don't know. I honestly don't I can't remember. SPEAKER_01: Okay. Well, before you started playing, what did you think baseball was gonna be like? SPEAKER_00: Really fun. SPEAKER_01: You thought it was gonna be really fun. And now that you've actually played a full game, what's different than you expected? SPEAKER_00: I thought there was gonna be paid the graphical football rules. SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the rules that you play at school are quite a little bit different than like a real baseball game, right? Um, what is what has been the hardest thing for you to learn so far? SPEAKER_00: Sliding. I still haven't even learned it. SPEAKER_01: Still haven't learned how to slide yet. Yeah. Anything else that's been really challenging for you to learn? No, no, just sliding. What do you think went well in your first game? We won. You won? What about you? What did you think you did well? Stopping that ball. Stopping the ball. And I love that, like, yes, you won. Um, but you didn't, you didn't get a hit, which was fine, but you're proud of yourself for stopping that ball and getting it thrown into the infield. I love that. Um, and you know, I think even your effort is worth celebrating rather than, you know, the outcome. Because our coach, um, our private uh private lessons coach says that even if you have like a 25% batting average, you are a Hall of Famer. So you're not gonna hit every single ball. 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So if you're in a season of taking better care of yourself, but you want to do it in a way that is doable and sustainable, this is a really good place to start. You can shop at shop gut personal at www.gutpersonal.com. And when you use my code Christy10, C-H-R-Y-S-T-Y and the number 10, you'll get 10% off your order. But here's your reminder caring for your body is not selfish, it is stewardship. You're allowed to feel good, you're allowed to have energy, and you are allowed to invest in yourself. So don't forget, head to gutpersonal.com, use Christy10 and start small. Your future self. Well, thank you. All right, girl, let's jump back in. All right, tell me, since you said that you're really proud about this, tell me about the ball that you stopped in right field. What were you thinking when that ball came towards you? Well, I had to back uh I forgot who was second or shortstop, but I had to back them up. I have to back them up, that's right. And I remember that even though you didn't catch the ball, I was so, so proud of you because you were there and you were backing up and you were doing your job. You were you were playing hardcore defense, and I loved that. And um, all right, question six. What was going through your head when you were batting and the pitcher was throwing really fast? SPEAKER_00: I gotta hit this or we're hooked. Because we were it was like zero to zero. SPEAKER_01: It was zero to zero and you had to hit that ball, but you didn't. Oh no, the first at bat was a walk, but the second at bat you struck out. How did you feel after you struck out? Why? SPEAKER_00: Um did you swing at the ball? SPEAKER_01: Okay, so what are we gonna do different next game? Oh, that's true. That's a good point. All right, what do you want to get better at this season? Being your first season playing baseball. SPEAKER_00: Um keeping my eye on the ball. SPEAKER_01: Keeping your eye on the ball, okay. Is there anything you're nervous about for the rest of the season? Nope. You're not nervous about anything? Okay. What are you most excited about? Hitting a home run. Ooh. Yeah, one of our teammates hit hitting out of the park home run, right? That was awesome. All right, finally, last question. If another kid was thinking about trying baseball or trying something completely new, something they've never done before, but they're really nervous, try it. Why? SPEAKER_00: Because you have to follow your dreams. You have to follow your dreams. Aww. Totally not a one-piece intro. Uh totally not a one-piece intro. Yeah. So follow your dreams no matter how what you have to follow your dreams however crazy they seem. SPEAKER_01: Wow, I love that. All right, so I think that that might be my favorite answer. Because even if even if your dreams are crazy to other people, they're not crazy to you, right? Who puts them on your heart? SPEAKER_00: You. SPEAKER_01: No, I don't put them on God puts it on your heart, right? And God will give you the ability to make them happen. All right, so and I think that that is the whole thing. Like you don't have to know how to do something before you start. You don't have to be the best person on the field. You don't have to have years of experience. You don't even have to know what you're when you're supposed to swing. Sometimes you just have to step up to the plate. Sometimes you miss and you get another chance and another. Sometimes you strike out, sometimes you fail, but you get back up and you try again. And I think as adults, we forget how brave and courageous it is to be a beginner and start something before we're ready or start something because even though we don't know what we're doing. And we look at people who are really good at something and we compare our beginning to their middle, our chapter one to their chapter 37. And, you know, but yeah, Bruce's baseball team has been playing together for years. And, you know, they know more than he does right now. But that's not evidence that he doesn't belong. That's just evidence that he's new, but he's willing to learn and he wants to learn and he's coachable and he wants to be there. And I think that's something that I want to remind myself of and you as well. That, you know, maybe you're starting a business or maybe you're starting a podcast, maybe you're going back to school, maybe you're writing a book, maybe you're trying to make new friends, maybe you're trying to figure out who you are after years of putting yourself on the back burner and everybody else first. You know, maybe you're walking into a room and you feel like an imposter, like you don't belong there. Please do not let being a beginner convince you that you don't belong. You are allowed to be new. Everybody started somewhere. Everybody started at the beginning. You're allowed to ask questions. You're allowed to mess up, you're allowed to strike out. You are absolutely allowed to get back up and try again. Because the only way to eventually be good at something is to be willing to be a beginner at first. Bruce, thank you for being here today. Thank you for being here today. I'm really, really proud of you because you are willing to try something new. And I cannot wait to keep watching you play baseball. All right, Bruce, let's count it out. Let's party on three. SPEAKER_00: One, two, three, let's party. SPEAKER_01: All right, if you're listening to this and you're in your own season of being a beginner, I hope that you remember Bruce's first baseball game. You do not have to be good yet. You just have to be willing to start, even if you're scared. I am so grateful that you are here and to be on this journey with you. Cheers to us, cheers to our growth together. I love you. I'm reading for you, and remember you matter. I will see you next week. Same time, same place.