As I collected my son from baseball practice, he said, “I feel good!”

Like any reasonable person would do, I paused to play James Brown’s most celebrated song.

But then I asked why he felt this way.

“I dunno. I just know I worked as hard as I could at practice.”

No mention of hitting well. No mention of winning a scrimmage. No mention of a spectacular play.

Just that he worked as hard as he could. One hundred percent effort.

* * *

We can’t control outcomes, but we can decide how much effort we put in.

And putting in everything we’ve got feels pretty good.