There is no ninth inning

I was in 3rd grade, sitting in a tiny chair next to a round table with 7 of my classmates. My teacher pulled out our new reading book, "On the Horizon." I wasn't a very confident kid, but phonics and reading made sense to me. So, against my better judgment, I decided to say the name of the book out loud - 17 times in a row, as only a 3rd grader can.

There was only one problem. I was mispronouncing "horizon." I got it wrong.

Ouch.

For a kid with not much confidence to begin with, being corrected by a teacher in front of my judgey little friends was heartwrenching. It's probably the reason I still remember it 30 years later.

But that's what school is all about. You're either right or you're wrong. Right is good. Wrong is bad. And it sets us up with a mentality that being wrong is, by definition, failure.

But life doesn't work like that. You will be wrong. I promise. These are some of the things I've gotten wrong in just the last week:

• I forgot to get gas for the lawnmower.
• I yelled at the wrong kid when there was an argument.
• I forgot to ask how my daughter's day was at school.
• I didn't tell my oldest son goodnight.
• I got upset with my wife when I was the one that was wrong.
• I didn't call my mom back when I said I would.
• I laid awake stressing about things I can't control.
• I didn't get a project done on time.
• I forgot to follow-up with an email.
• I fell asleep before I finished the chore I promised my wife I would do.
• I wasn't mentally present for a conversation with my son.

All failures. All things that I know how to do and just simply didn't execute. And these are just the ones I've thought of in the last 90 seconds. I'm certain there are more.

But it's not a failure, because life isn't a zero-sum game. Life is a continuous game. And in a continuous game, there is no ninth inning. There is no last pitch. You just keep playing.

You'll probably mess up today. I know I will. But when you get it wrong, simply learn and move on. Beating yourself up (or beating others up) over mistakes keeps you stuck.

You gave up a home run? You turned the puck over at your own blueline? You missed the game-winning three? Yeah, that sucks. But get up, brush yourself off and keep playing. There will be a new game tomorrow and you'll be better for having lost that last one.