Growing up on the farm in Alberta, New York seemed so far away.
But here’s what fascinated me when I finally fell in love with the game: Baseball follows the same natural laws as farming.
You plant. You tend. You harvest. Sometimes you feast. Sometimes you’re famished. And sometimes . . . well, sometimes you watch your Yankees lose to the Dodgers.
But there’s wisdom in the loss if you know where to look.
See, baseball isn’t just a game of wins and losses. It’s a demonstration of nature’s most powerful law: Seasons always change.
The same way a farmer knows winter isn’t permanent, baseball teaches us that every loss carries the seeds of the next victory.
Here’s what most people miss about losing: It’s not an endpoint, it’s a turning point.
Think about the natural cycle of baseball:
- Spring Training (Planting)
- Regular Season (Growing)
- Post Season (Harvesting)
- Off Season (Renewing)
Notice something? The “end” is actually the beginning.
This is why I can’t stand when people say “there’s always next year” after a tough loss. It’s not about next year. It’s about what you do with the winter you’re now in.
On the farm, winter wasn’t a pause. It was preparation. It was planning. It was the hidden season where next year’s harvest was really determined.
A loss (or a win, for that matter) isn’t an endpoint. It’s nature’s way of saying: “Time to prune. Time to strengthen. Time to transform.”
Here are three natural laws of transformation that baseball teaches us:
1. The Law of the Soil
Just like a field needs to be turned over after harvest, loss creates fertile ground for improvement. The question isn’t “why did we lose?” but “what will we grow from this?”
2. The Law of the Season
Everything has its cycle. Fighting the season never works. Instead, ask “what season am I really in?” Then do what that season requires.
3. The Law of the Roots
Surface changes don’t last. Just like a plant needs strong roots to survive, real transformation happens in the depths. Use the off-season to go deep.
(For my non-baseball friends, think of any loss as your personal off-season. Your chance to go deep and emerge stronger.)
Here’s what I know from decades of coaching peak performers: The champions aren’t the ones who never lose. They’re the ones who know how to use the natural laws of loss.
They know winter isn’t permanent.
They know every field can be replanted.
They know loss isn’t an end — it’s a turning point.
The question isn’t whether you’ll face losses. The question is: will you fight the season, or will you use it?
Your next victory is growing in the soil of today’s loss.
You just need to plant it.
Be Bold. Take Action. Leave a Mark
Todd Herman
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