It's All In The Follow Through -- The One Lesson I Should Have Learned

I was just ten, but I vividly remember Coach Dan. I never cared for him and I think the feeling was mutual. Unlike his superstar son, I was slow footed and less than athletic. I was a little joker. He was all business. For me, it was just Little League, a chance to play ball with my friends and mimic my heroes. For him, it was life.

Although I was bigger and stronger than many of the other kids, I just couldn’t hit the ball for distance. It often plopped right in front of the second baseman who would casually toss it over to first base to cut down my lumbering dash.

He tried to work on my swing to give me a little pop. “It’s all in the follow through!” he would repeat like a pull-me-doll, over and again. I never got it right.

Eventually, his words rang true with all my future “athletic endeavors,” –baseball, football, golf, tennis, bowling. They all required a finishing motion, a follow through. Technique, concentration, commitment, conditioning and ability are worthless under the specter of a bad follow through.

The journey of life suffers under a similar dilemma. Good people of every ilk fail to deliver after the initial energy. Empty promises made on emotional appeals lie hollow when don’t carry them onward. We have all wept at the appeal to help the poor or disadvantaged — only to fail to deliver. We all know that good intentions do not substitute for sustained performance.

I live the consequence of failing to follow through on my early efforts. I started well, but I finished poorly and that’s all people will remember.

Red Letter Believers are people who don’t just think about good things and talk about them — we do them.

How’s your follow through? Comment here.

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