Even if you are not a sports fan, Wednesday night was an important night.

The Boston Red Sox are an American tradition who inspire passion, whether that leaves you feeling love, or disgust. Either way, it’s passion.

The Red Sox won a championship on their home field for the first time since 1918.

They were deep in postseason baseball where with one swing of the bat, the random, skinny guy batting last in the lineup has the chance to become an immortal legend.

On that note, I once played baseball.

I was the red-headed, freckle faced, skinny kid who was not that good, or you might say, sucked ass!

But with one swing of the bat, I became the red-headed, freckled faced, skinny kid who slammed a home run in my Little League Championship Game. It was lucky, it was random, it was awesome!

And then, a few innings later, I did it again. Two Home Runs. In the Championship Game!

Over the years, I showed the video of these two home runs to friends, roommates, first dates, relatives…

More often than not, their reaction included something to the effect of, “That’s awesome. But what’s with the limp high fives?”

At first, I’d respond, “What do you mean…limp high fives?”

One friend said, “Rewind it and watch. You high five like a fairy princess prancing around after winning a stuffed unicorn.”

They were right.

In my sprints around the base paths, I realized, having watched the video 800 times, that I doled out a series of a very limp high fives. (See Video)

Let’s get one thing straight. There are no nuances or subtleties about The High Five.

You either connect or you don’t.

In my 15 years in the wellness world, here is my most lasting lesson: Don’t get caught in the middle.

People caught in the middle are mired in mediocrity.

They sort of try, and sort of don’t.

They sort of believe, and sort of don’t.

They sort of exercise, and sort of don’t.

It’s a life half-lived.

If you are going to live, live fully.

Whatever you are doing, doing it completely!

Let a High-Five symbolize that you are all in.

Whether it’s how you pay attention in a meeting, or how present you were trick-or-treating with your kids on Halloween…be there fully.

If you are giving your partner only partial commitment, can you dig deeper?

If you are just going though the motions during your workout, can you give more?

If you are showing up at work with a bad attitude, can you change the energy?’

If there’s one thing about this Red Sox team (as much as I hate to admit it), they do the little things..and the big ones.

Nothing is too small to do with big passion (and all your heart).

 

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Ed: Bryonie Wise