You Don't Have to Chase Every Ball

A discernment practice for when everything feels equally important.

You don’t need to be everywhere to be effective.

But most people try anyway.

A friend of mine who helped organize the Senior Games at Stanford shared this observation:

90-year-old tennis players don’t chase every ball.

They know where to stand in a way that gives them the best odds of receiving, returning, and staying in the game.

They don’t scatter their energy. They don’t sprint for shots they can’t reach. Not just to conserve energy. But to play the point well.

I know what it feels like to chase every ball.

To respond to everything. To stay in motion so nothing gets dropped. To call it leadership when it’s actually coverage.

It isn’t the same as discernment.

Underneath, there’s pressure.

An urgency to get moving. To DO something.

And over time, that becomes the baseline.

The Pattern Beneath It

How you respond in those moments tells you a lot.

The Pleaser feels the pull to stay connected. To take in more input.

The Prover steps in early. Covers more ground than necessary. Makes sure nothing can be questioned.

The Perfectionist scans constantly. Tracks every variable. Doesn’t want to miss anything.

It’s fast. It’s automatic.

You might be moving, but you’re not always choosing.

When pressure is driving, everything starts to feel equally important.

And when everything feels important, you end up chasing everything.

So where do you actually need to be?

At the questions only you can answer.

At the decisions that set direction.

Where your presence changes the outcome.

The 90-year-olds know this on the court.

Your job is to find it on yours.

This Week’s Ritual — Where Do I Stand?

This is the practice I return to when I feel that need to react.

That moment where something pings and my system wants to hit it back over the net, fast.

Before I’ve even stopped to think.