As we head into the final stretch of the year, I found myself thinking about the Savannah Bananas; yes, the baseball team known for dancing shortstops, pitchers on stilts, and a rulebook that feels more like improv comedy than America’s pastime. If you haven’t seen them, imagine a game of baseball where the primary objective isn’t perfection, but joy. Their secret? Fun isn’t an afterthought; it’s the strategy. I went to a game this year, and it was sensory overload, but so much fun. Imagine someone pitching and hitting on stilts!!! And it made me wonder: What if we ended our year the same way? For that matter, what if we approached every day that way?!
This time of year, most of us tighten up, checking lists, reviewing goals, judging what we did or didn’t do. We take inventory with all the seriousness of a year-end audit. But the Bananas remind us that maybe we don’t need to take everything so seriously. They play a legitimate game, but they never forget that the point is to enjoy it. Somewhere along the way, many of us forget about approaching things with a sense of fun and joy in our own lives.
Think about it: when have you performed your best, stressed and forcing outcomes, or relaxed and having fun?
The Bananas rewrite the rules, literally. A two-hour time cap. Fans can catch a foul ball for an out. Batters can steal first base. They didn’t ask, “How do we make baseball better?” They asked, “How do we make it more fun?” And in doing so, they built something magnetic, unforgettable, and wildly successful.
What if we rewrote the “rules” for how we close out the year?
Instead of judging ourselves for what we didn’t accomplish, we could celebrate what we did, even the small wins. Instead of sprinting to the finish line exhausted, we could walk there smiling, grateful for the people who cheered us on. Instead of thinking of the year as a test we either pass or fail, we could look at it as a season of experiences that shaped us.
Fun doesn’t diminish achievement; it fuels it. Joy isn’t a distraction; it’s a source of energy. The Bananas figured that out. Maybe we should, too.
So as the year winds down, I’m taking a page from their playbook: lighten up, enjoy the moment, smile at the absurdity when it shows up, and remember that life is meant to be lived, not graded.
End the year like a Banana: with play, with laughter, and with the freedom to enjoy the game.
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” – Katharine Hepburn
What’s one “rule” you want to rewrite for yourself before the year ends? Reply and share it, maybe your idea will help someone else end their year like a Banana, too.
Have a great weekend.
-Vijay