I watched the first few innings of the Major League All-Star game last night.

The American League was threatening to score with 2 men on base and only one out. The next batter, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, promptly hit into a double play. Threat gone, inning over.

As a batter, hitting into a double play is the worst possible outcome for your team (yes, triple plays are worse, but too rare to count).

As Hamilton hit into the twin killing, I found myself talking to my TV once again:

If you’re going to hit into a double play, at least have the good sense to strike out…

(This line comes from legendary Baltimore Orioles manager/curmudgeon Earl Weaver.)

Applying this wisdom away from the baseball diamond, when things do not feel like they are going in the right direction, the wisest decision is to take a timeout, step back, and refrain from the compulsion to continue forcing things.

When you feel frustrated, anxious, angry, or fearful, it’s better to stop what you’re doing and regroup. This way you minimize the damage.  When you continue to try to bull through things when you do not feel aligned, chances are you’ll only create more undesirable outcomes.

While strikeouts are not ideal, they are twice as good as double plays.

I write these thoughts from my personal experience. Today, I’m in the middle of putting together my new Very Cool Life package (my new book, CDs, and lots more…). While it’s exciting to have all this great material to share, the details of packaging it all led me to feel overwhelmed.

So much to do. So many decisions. So many questions.

I knew I needed to chill out and to focus my thoughts in a better place (after all, it’s ALL in my materials!)

But I didn’t.

I kept at it. I would make today “productive” if it killed me.

And it almost did.

I finally came to my senses when I found myself covered in sweat and ink, swearing at my jammed printer (which was too cowardly to fight back). Murphy’s Law was in motion.

And just like that, I had hit into a double play.

But it’s not too late. There’s still one out left.

So I’m going to take a break. Do a nice mediation. And I’ll get back into the game when I feel ready.

Next time, I intend to have the good sense to just strike out…