They don’t teach you confidence. It’s like trying to teach power, or love. They’re all allusive. They’re easily gained, easily lost, and you’re left wanting.
*
One thing that got me through the LSAT was the road ahead. Before, my first time at bat, I struck out because everything, my entire future, my life, my entire meaning of existence, was riding on doing well. The pressure and the anxiety were unbearable. I swung wildly all the while with knots and butterflies in my stomach. Doubt clouded my vision, and I kept looking back, second guessing. I struck out even before the exam began.
This second time around, I had both the luxury of hindsight and the prudence of foresight on my side. Did I do well? Who cares? What I can say is that this exam had not and cannot beat me. It never will, because life is not all about make it or break it moments.
I mean there are those moments, and you know it when that time comes. Your fundamental character and the course of your life have changed, and for better or worst, it was a defining moment. Yes, they exist and stick out like mile markers, but life is on the road. It doesn’t only exist at these markers. It is in the driving from destination to destination. It is the entire journey, and it is a daily adventure. On this concept, it is inline with the baseball allegory.
Take a look at baseball player’s batting average. These numbers indicate the number of hits over the number of times a batter steps up to the plate. The greatest career batting average was .366 held by Ty Cobb. In fact, in today’s baseball season, batting above .300 makes you an excellent hitter. Baseball is one of the great sports that you can measure today’s players with that of the players of the past. I digress though. The point of significance I am trying to make is the actual batting average of .300.
In any other arena, a .300 is entirely unacceptable. Can you imagine if that were your college GPA? But in baseball, batting consistently every season at .300 makes you excellent. Do a little better and you might achieve greatness. Think about that real quick. That’s aggregate. Do well each day and maintain a consistency. Do a little better, and over time that accrues to greatness.
I may not be the best baseball player. I probably never will be, but that doesn’t stop me from being the best person I can be. The LSAT doesn’t stop me from attaining that goal either. I just put one foot forward and do good each day. I follow my footsteps the next day, and the next, and day after day, until someday, one day, I achieve greatness.
