You're Due

Many of the girls on my softball team chant this as encouragement when one of their teammates is up to bat.  It is one of their chants that annoys me to my core.  I see a few things wrong with the idea of "You're Due" (unless you are 39 weeks pregnant.)  I understand that they mean it to be encouraging, but in my opinion, it says a lot about their values (even if they just say it because they have grown up hearing it.)

"You're Due"

My first problem with this statement is it sounds like I deserve something, I deserve to get a hit.  We live in a culture that is filled with people who feel entitled.  The truth is we don't deserve anything.  This may sound harsh, but think about the opposite.  If I deserve something, does that mean that someone who was born in a third world country "deserves" to live an incredibly challenging life in harsh conditions?  What did I do to "deserve" to be born in the United States where I have access to clean drinking water, public education and resources galore?  No one is entitled to get a hit.  Maybe the pitcher you are faces is entitled to get a strike out.  The only thing we deserve each day is to be treated with respect and kindness.

My second problem with this statement is it assumes we should see a positive result because we have endured a challenge.  You don't deserve a hit more than anyone else on the field and you don't deserve to win more than anyone else.  

My final problem with this statement is it focuses on past results.  We need to learn from our past results and use this information to grow.  We don't deserve positive results, but we can work hard to ensure we can compete better. 

What areas of your life have you lived with a "I'm Due" mentality?  I know I have lived my life feeling entitled at times.  I deserve a job, I deserve a house.  It can be a hard mentality to break, but I believe this thought pattern only brings stress and frustration.