Inspiration, change, and sports coats

When a reporter asked Chris Carter, of the New York Mets how come he was wearing a sports coat although the dress code for the team was "Casual", he commented, "There's nothing casual about a pennant Race". Now we all know Mr. Carter (AKA Animal) as an overly hyper guy with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but maybe he does have a point. Are the 2010 New York Mets on August 8, 9 games back of the NL East leading Atlanta Braves, in a pennant race? Maybe not. But should the team feel the urgency as if they are? Should they be fighting their hardest and showing us (fans) that they are doing everything they can to get back in it, I think so. Chris Carter's comment, while being a little naive, exemplifies the attitude that we (fans) want our Mets to have. The never say die, fight till the death, give it all you got attitude. The issue is that the 2010 New York Mets lack a lot of that, and they have for sometime. But how does a team, ownership, the coaching staff change attitudes and mentalities? how does anyone do that for that matter. The lengthy introduction notwithstanding, this piece is not about the failures of the New York Mets. This piece is about how we find inspiration to change, and to ultimately succeed at our goals.

Many people think that change is a scary thing. I once read a saying, and I do believe it, that we are not so much scared of change, or the new ways, but the time in between the old and the new. Let's consider a break-up. Breaking up is definitely not easy to do, but we aren't afraid of finding someone new, we are scared of the time in between when we are alone, OR just not over him/her. That's the part that sucks, not the new relationship. The Mets have been holding on to the hope that this group of players can still regain the form that they showed in 2006 and win it all (with a little tweaking each offseason). They aren't so afraid of creating a new team, they are afraid of that time in between (the rebuilding process).

Now just like with the Mets, there are always a lot of outside factors that hinder our push for change. The Mets have a fan base to keep happy, as they need to make money. For the rest of us, maybe it's the bills that have to be paid thats keeping us from making bold moves like a change in career, maybe it's influence of family and friends that keeps us stagnet. Many times we have the goals, but because of the many obstacles of life, we avoid change out of fear of failure. The New York Mets are failing now, something has to give...

Where does the inspiration come from for change. The case of the Mets not making the necessary changes even when failure is already apparent is common. We become comfortable in failure and avoid change out of fear that things could be worse. Things could always be worse, but where does the inspiration come from the make the leap of "faith" to aspire towards dreams and a better way?

Sometimes, its a thought at night, sometimes its changing a routine. Other times it is necessity. It just might take a complete overhaul of attitude, mentality and vision to change the Mets at this point, it is nice to see young fresh faces such as Carter stepping up to ask for change. What will inspire you, or myself to make change a reality? To be continued...