Last night I received a call from a college player, who called to let me know, “He can no longer hit!” Prognosis, he has an obvious case of Atychiphobia!
After a 45 minute discussion helping him realize he was the reason why he was failing, and how simple it is to change once he realized he was the cure. I do want to believe he is on the mend, but it was then I decided to repost a blog I wrote back in 2014. There may be others suffering from this self-induced dreaded disease.
Too many kids today suffer from Atychiphobia! I love it when I use big words, but when I found out the definition, I hate this one. It is every player’s nightmare!
Atychiphobia is the unwarranted worry of failure and is alive and well in the game of baseball. Truth be told, Atychiphobia, is really not in the game of baseball. Quite honestly it is not real, we create it, we make it real.
How?
We over amplify of a situation that does not exists, but when we experience certain circumstances we swear it is real.
Raymmar Tiradi stated:
- [We allow it to be there] because [we] have not failed enough
- [We allow it to be there] because [we] care what others think about [us]
- [We allow it to be there] because [we] can’t handle the truth
How many times have you doubted yourself, even though you had the knowledge and ability to complete whatever you needed to do? In every game they’re a ton of opportunities to doubt your self; ever ran across these examples?
Table 1. A Couple Examples of Self Doubt
You could create a very descriptive explanation about growing older, but in reality it is different for everyone, so the best answer is “…you just have to live it.” The same is for baseball. Trust your knowledge; make sure you are viewing things just as they are, and accept the outcome! Every situation listed in Table 1, are just words. Words, that if we let them, will create doubt, question our ability, and cause us to do what we do not want to do.
Why? Because we told ourselves to! As Glenn Moore stated in “Success Guide for Athletes,” our brain is unable to create a picture of NOT doing something. In fact, if you tell it what you do not want to do, it will do the opposite. Example:
Don’t think of rattlesnakes.
My guess you had a picture of rattlesnakes in your head. Atychiphobia, is really not in the game of baseball, it is in us…if we allow it to be. Instead of conjuring up the inconceivable, why not take a deep breath, use your knowledge and view what is real.
As with everything in baseball, the resolution is simple.
- You may fail, learn from it.
- Some may experience disappointment, but…in the scheme of things, so what.
- In the end, you may uncover weaknesses you need to reduce. Welcome the knowledge.
As I read each paragraph Mr. Tiradi’s discussion about Atychiphobia I could not help but remember the nine essential habits and practices of mentally strong people I wrote about in a blog, “Slumps Do Not Exist in Baseball.” As I stated here, the fix is simple.
Want to know more about Raymmar Tirado, check out this link: https://medium.com/raymmars-reads/7-reasons-why-you-will-never-do-anything-amazing-with-your-life-2a1841f1335d#.1j3m8vnwz
Until next blog,
Al McCormick
