I live here in Atlanta and am a huge baseball and soccer fan. The Atlanta Braves were doing well this year and led by 8½ games in early September. It seemed like the playoffs were a sure thing! Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. They lost the advantage and the opportunity to play in the postseason.

Before the Braves’ demise was certain, Chipper Jones, who plays third base, said something to the team. Chipper is a 15-year veteran of the team and young players look to him for advice, advice and leadership. He commands a lot of respect and has proven to be a leader with his success story. At one of the team meetings, he said, “Hey guys, we’re trying too hard. You’ve got to let the game come to you.”

I was intrigued by the fact that a baseball player, not a psychologist, would make such a comment. That is in line with my message: “When we let go, flow.” The things you can’t see, hear, or touch often shape what becomes your reality.

So why is it so important that the game, your life or your work come to you? There are several things that can happen as a result.

There is a place for space

Letting the game come to you adds breadth to your mind and life. When you internalize the mantra “Let success come to you” or “Let wisdom come to you”, it adds space to your head. It allows you to lighten your load by not thinking “I have to figure this out” or “By the 15th of next month I have to finish this” or whatever it is that we insist and push. When you let things come to you, space opens up for creativity, the emergence of wisdom, miracles, and dramatic insights. Add some space and let it come to you!

The fight is stressful and suffocating

The spirit of what Chipper Jones was saying is that the more his teammates tried, the more mistakes they made. You could tell when they got up to bat that they weren’t happy with themselves. They were struggling every time they thought, “I’ve got to hit a home run.” They weren’t thinking about getting on base but about how many runs they needed to score.

We do the same in our work and in our life. Instead of taking one thing at a time, we focus too much on the bottom line and achieve nothing. As that phrase says “Inch by inch, it’s a doddle; mile by mile, it takes a while.” There is such profound truth in that simple statement! Relax in what you are doing and trust that you will have what you need. If you don’t have what you need, have faith that you will find what you need, or meet the right people, or develop a particular skill or strength to help you reach the goal.
If you let the game come to you, things will happen the way they’re supposed to, but as you fight, you’ll create stress. You will stifle your own creativity. So relax into your own inner wisdom.

serenity is achieved

That leads to the third result of letting the game come to you. Serenity is a natural byproduct. This is not talking about a passive serenity where you sit at home hoping that everything will work out and take care of itself. This is the serenity that results from the perspective of what you are passionate about unfolding before your very eyes. You can be inspiring, passionate, successful AND have a cool, calm presence about you.

You will discover that the answers, the truth, the people and the circumstances will follow you when you allow space in your head and in your life. If you fight with it, you will stifle what needs to happen and block the serenity that can be a natural byproduct. So I invite you, in life and work, to let the game come to you and see the brilliance in yourself and others illuminate around you.