Yips: We All Get Them
This week at lunch with some friends, they started talking about when athletes get the “yips.” I had never heard of it. Brent of course knew all about it (being a former college athlete… and still one heck of an athlete in my eyes). He says it’s all in the player’s head. They start focusing on the wrong thing. Some people try to distract themselves. But that makes it worse. You just have to face it head on.
So, what are the yips? It’s when a player repeatedly makes drastic errors in everyday tasks. Like when the catcher can’t get the ball to the pitcher over and over. He’ll throw it two feet in front of him, then fifty feet high, etc. Here’s a clip of Rick Ankiel in 2000.
People watching him can be judgmental. The person on the receiving end has to deal with it. While also trying to keep things moving forward as the other team keeps advancing. Other teammates cringe in sympathy for their peers dealing with it. And, for the person it is happening to, it is extremely frustrating, confusing, and embarrassing.
This whole thing is fascinating to me. It reminds me so much of something Paul says in Scripture.
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Romans 7:15
(The whole passage is actually very profound about the nature of sin in our lives. It is challenging and thought provoking. I am no where near qualified to be an expert on it. But, it sure does change my heart when I reflect on it.) Back to Paul.
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Romans 7:15
(The whole passage is actually very profound about the nature of sin in our lives. It is challenging and thought provoking. I am no where near qualified to be an expert on it. But, it sure does change my heart when I reflect on it.) Back to Paul.
This guy is one the most impactful people in history. He was an intelligent, wealthy, powerful guy who gave up everything to follow this Way of Jesus thing. He was a person of Truth, Hope, and Love to the world. Yet even he had what sounds like the yips to me. He kept doing things he did not want to do. He got frustrated at this.
Have you ever done something over and over and gotten mad at yourself for doing it? Especially because you didn't even want to do it? Yep, I understand. I have had the yips before too. Like holy makrel, why do I have three Starburst wrappers on my desk for the third time today? No really, that’s not the type of yips Paul was talking about. It’s those bad habits and wrong ways of thinking that seem to take over. It’s those times when we feel like we have betrayed ourselves or like we don’t know who we are. These times are different for all of us. But I think God allowed this to be in scripture, because all of His blessed human creation is going to have the yips at some point and we need to know that they don’t take us out of the game for good.
I don’t really have a resolution to this that has some nice tidy bow. But, I do have some thoughts that make sense to me.
I see that Paul didn’t give up. Later in the passage, he makes some peace with his yips. He says, "So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." Romans 7:25. Just like Brent said. It's a matter of focus. If we focus on God's Ways, we'll be freed from the yips. I'm encouraged to know that Paul went on to revolutionize the world with Truth, Light, and Love.
I think Rick Ankiel has been able to move on in life too.
A couple more thoughts on the yips...
Like in baseball, when we get the yips in life, there are people sitting in stands with their snacks watching. They will criticize, laugh, make fun, think that they would never do the same, or use it for their entertainment. Have I been one of those people? God, forgive me.
I sure would much rather be one of the fellow teammates who offers sympathy, acceptance, forgiveness, hope, and grace. I hope I would be the one who would call a timeout and help get my friend out of the situation. Then sit with her in the dugout as she deals with the confusion, shame, and frustration. We’re all on the same team.
And, when we’re the person with the yips, we need to call the timeout ourselves. We need to ask for help. We need to face the hurdle in our mind whatever it may be. Let's be careful though, not to be crippled with guilt and humiliation. God is a God of conviction not condemnation. He draws us to repentance not shame. We can hold our heads high focusing on His Ways.
I don’t really have a resolution to this that has some nice tidy bow. But, I do have some thoughts that make sense to me. I see that Paul didn’t give up. Later in the passage, he makes some peace with his yips. He says, "So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." Romans 7:25. Just like Brent said. It's a matter of focus. If we focus on God's Ways, we'll be freed from the yips. I'm encouraged to know that Paul went on to revolutionize the world with Truth, Light, and Love.
I think Rick Ankiel has been able to move on in life too.
A couple more thoughts on the yips...
Like in baseball, when we get the yips in life, there are people sitting in stands with their snacks watching. They will criticize, laugh, make fun, think that they would never do the same, or use it for their entertainment. Have I been one of those people? God, forgive me.
I sure would much rather be one of the fellow teammates who offers sympathy, acceptance, forgiveness, hope, and grace. I hope I would be the one who would call a timeout and help get my friend out of the situation. Then sit with her in the dugout as she deals with the confusion, shame, and frustration. We’re all on the same team.
And, when we’re the person with the yips, we need to call the timeout ourselves. We need to ask for help. We need to face the hurdle in our mind whatever it may be. Let's be careful though, not to be crippled with guilt and humiliation. God is a God of conviction not condemnation. He draws us to repentance not shame. We can hold our heads high focusing on His Ways.
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