Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to win. This can mean sacrificing when you’re at bat for yourself for your team and teammates. Winning is something inside of you that is hard to explain, you just feel it. It’s inside of you that you are born with that you wake up with in the morning. There is no better feeling than winning, honestly and everyone loves a winner.
The will to win has to be there even when you are down in the dumps. Even when you are down for the count, you must still feel like you’re going to win the battle, no matter what takes place. So winning is a mindset. You believe you will win, not matter what the game looks like in the moment.
Never expect to lose, ever. Losing shouldn’t even be in your vocabulary, especially as a boy growing up. Losing does not feel good and it does not look good, so why focus on it at all?
Professional athletes get asked the same question over and over, “Do you really love to win?” The underlying question is “You really can’t stand to lose, can you?”
For me, the answer is simple and it really is that I can’t stand losing. Everyone loves to win, yes of course, who doesn’t? But you have to make losing so inexcusable (in your mind) that you really just can’t stand losing at all. That means you have to whatever it takes to win the battle.
Knowing you will win will help push you through.
You can read more in Bobby Haney’s book, From Kings Park to Omaha