by David DeFord

Early in my lunchtime walk around a nearby lake I saw a cyclist with a t-shirt that proclaimed, “The Older I Get the Better I Was.”

We’ve all heard people say this. Of course, they mean that they only remember their successes rather than their failures. In their memory the fish they caught tend to grow over time. So do their athletic and scholastic skills.

I’ve heard Bob Feller, one of the greatest major league pitchers of all time use the same phrase.

I find it funny, though, that lately I’m finding my own experience the opposite. Last Fall at the funeral home viewing of my father, I saw my old high school baseball coach. As we reminisced, I told him of my memory of disappointing him by popping up a key bunt in a regional championship game.

His most vivid memory of my playing days was quite different. Late in an important game in my sophomore year, he decided to bench our star homerun hitting first baseman because of a bad attitude. He sent me to the field in his place.

When I came to bat with runners on first and second with two out, he began to question his decision. But I confidently knocked a double into right-center field scoring both runners. Amazingly, I don’t even remember that game.

A few months later I went through my mother’s photos and scanned some of the more important ones. She had saved many of the newspaper articles and box scores from my playing days. I was shocked to see clippings where game-after-game where I had two and three hits—many for extra bases. I always remembered myself as a good fielder but poor hitter.

In my memory, I remember more of the failures and shortcomings. No wonder I’ve had a life-long struggle with confidence in myself.

When you think back of your earlier days, how do you frame your memories?

I have learned that when my confidence is at its highest so is my performance. And I think that’s a universal principle.

It’s important for us to identify our weaknesses and to turn them into strengths. But it’s even more important it learn our strengths and build upon them. We usually create our greatest successes when we use a personal strength as the center of our effort.

If you want to raise your vision to greater heights, reflect on your strengths and earlier successes. You will raise your confidence, and improve your performance.

Related Quotes

"With confidence, you can reach truly amazing heights; without confidence, even the simplest accomplishments are beyond your grasp." Jim Loehr

"It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome." William James

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." Thomas Jefferson

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow." Helen Keller

"At the center of our agency is our freedom to form a healthy attitude toward whatever circumstances we are placed in!" Neal A. Maxwell

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