Journey away from a backwards K | 3.5 min read

Hey Sunshine

Happy Sunday, you make me feel like spring has sprung

The story

My daughter decided to try baseball this year. Years of attending her brothers’ games, making fleeting summer friendships, being bored, getting into it, she wanted in.

Her very first game, she went 2 for 2 (up to bat twice, then got two hits)

She got hit by a pitch a few times, and before long, she was happy just watching the ball come in, hoping 4 balls would be called and she could walk to first base.

But, as the season went on, the strike zone seemed to get bigger.

Quick sidebar: She’s helped me keep score at some of her brother’s games. A strikeout is marked with a K. A strikeout with no swing is a backwards K. To her, it may have well been a scarlet letter, a kiss of death, a mark of the devil.

Pitchers threw strikes.

She wasn’t swinging.

She cried and cried, “a backwards K!”

Disaster.

So, I gave her a mission. You get 10 hits, I’ll buy you the batting gloves you want.

“Really!?” She said with a huge smile.

100%, kid.

A funny thing happens when you just swing. You get hits.

Though she wasn’t swinging as much as she was just lining up the bat to where the ball was. It was a funny-looking bunt.

A few games in, her coaches said, “If we need a hit, just put her in; she’s always getting on base”

On the drives to and from baseball, she’d remind me of her hit count.

• “I got two today, Daddy.”

• “OK, Daddy, that’s 5 now”

• “Daddy, if I hit a ball but it goes foul, does that count?”

She was on her journey. She saw her goal. Her teammates got behind her. It was a regular topic of discussion at home plate and around the dinner plate.

I actually bought the gloves around hit number 7 because I was at the store anyway. Seeing the gloves hanging with the hats, jackets, and keys every day when leaving for school kept her motivated.

And then it happened. 10 hits. She was so excited.

Childhood excitement is worth far more than the cost of these gloves.

And at her next game, the hits continued. In fact, since the bet was made, she’s only walked or hit. Her on-base percentage is perfect.

And you know what? She rarely remembers to wear the gloves (even on the first few at-bats, they just sat in her bag).

The journey is better than the destination

You’ve heard it before. But why? Well, the journey is better than the destination because it’s where you spend the vast majority of your time.

It’s the process of striving, overcoming obstacles, and gaining skills that build character, foster resilience, and provide continuous meaning to your everyday life.

Sure, the Carolina Hurricanes may love that they won the Stanley Cup this year, but the storylines coming out of it are about the relationships they built, the fact that no one believed in them, and the fact that they were knocked out of the semi-finals 3 times before making it to the finals.

If you’ve ever read or watched The Lord of the Rings, you know this to be true.

The deeper meaning behind it

• Continuous growth & learning: For any new journey, you’re forced to learn new skills, face failures, and adapt. Psychology experts emphasize that focusing on the process helps you internalize positive behaviours and map out personal milestones.

• The "Destination Letdown": After you cross the finish line or earn your prize, that initial high fades fast. It’s a real thing they call the "post-victory blues,” it just turns into an immediate desire to whatever’s next. The destination is a moment, the journey is a purpose.

• Connection and perspective: You’re usually sharing your journey with others: you build relationships, share struggles, and gain a deeper understanding of what you value.

• Delayed gratification: Enjoying the journey helps you appreciate small victories and be present in the moment.

The Pebble

This clip is from Little Miss Sunshine, a movie about a dysfunctional family driving a Volkswagen bus from New Mexico to a beauty pageant in California. The destination is flawed from the beginning: a child beauty pageant.

The journey, though, which breaks the VW bus and tests their family’s mental health, turns them from disconnected individuals into a beautiful pageant-worthy team.

The challenge
You can do hard things. Start your journey. What’s your plan?

Try running a 5k, 10k, or a half-marathon.

Go for a 100km bike ride.

Chase a new job, launch your company. Get cooking.

YOLO, ya know?