“The grass is always greener on the other side,” a quote we have all heard one time or another. While it could very well be true, have you ever taken a moment to look down to see where you are standing?
I ask you this question because it is one I have been asking myself over the past couple of years; am I enjoying the grass I stand on?
“Enjoy the grass you stand on” is a philosophy that was introduced to me the summer before my senior year of college.
My good friend and former teammate Rigo Beltran had gotten drafted by the Seattle Mariners the year prior and was in Arizona playing his first year of professional baseball that summer. We talked on the phone a great deal and spoke about many of the things I write about here. We talked about having goals, how to create successes, how to get the most out of failures, and how to have perspective through it all. Perspective, for me, has always been my biggest take away. I believe perspective is the glue that holds any plans for success together.
During one phone call, we were discussing an interesting idea in perspective Rigo had learned during a mental training session with the Mariners’ organization. It was the idea of “enjoying the grass you stand on.” Right away it clicked for me, it became somewhat of a guiding light in perspective.
I think the quote resonated with me so well because I was (and still am sometimes) guilty of the “grass is always greener on the other side,” mentality. That mindset, for me, was centered around comparing myself to others. Interestingly, I only thought that way on the baseball field. I was very confident and self-assured in just about all other aspects of my life. It was in baseball where I never thought my grass was green enough.
To be honest, it never occurred to me before that conversation with Rigo, to look down and be proud of where I was standing. At the time, I was doing something that only two percent of people in my profession were doing, that being, playing college sports.
I began to take pride in the simple fact that I was playing baseball at a great program in Lynn University and competing in arguably the top Division II baseball conference in the nation. Those simple facts helped my grass begin to look a lot greener.
It is the ability to take pride in who you are, and where you are, that I want you to take away from this. You can only begin to be to do this when you stop looking around and begin looking down.
I can tell you right now you have a lot in your life to be proud of. The fact that you are taking the time to read this shows that you value yourself enough to want to improve. The desire to learn is the richest soil you can give your grass.
So, is the grass really greener on the other side? Maybe, but the only thing you can ever know for sure is whether or not the grass you stand on is green. Be proud of how far you have come, be proud of where you are going, but most importantly, be proud of where you are right now. Your grass is green, enjoy it.