A few weekends ago, Jason Belmonte won his 14th major PBA title. It was his first tournament back in a really long time. That win in itself is impressive enough, but for me it was HOW he did it that was even more inspiring.

He took a major risk. At a time it would have been easy to play it safe…. He didn’t. When it was all on the line, on live tv, he risked it all, for all to see. He picked up a ball he hadn’t used all game, and with the title on the line, he executed what appeared to be the perfect shot.

And that risk paid off.

That gutsy move in the tenth led him to his 14th major title.

Bowling involves a lot of educated guessing. You’re always thinking about which ball to use or how to move on the lane. And last week, he took a big risk with his choice. It wasn’t the obvious choice. Most bowlers wouldn’t have made the same choice. But for him, it made all the difference, and it paid off. That day, it was the winning choice.

What would have happened if he didn’t take that risk that day? Maybe he still wins using the other ball.. the one where ideal reaction was fading. But, likely that ball doesn’t lead him to the title.

A week later, on the prestigious US Open show, he was faced with the choice again. He got through a match and when it came down to the wire, he decided to make that same bold move. He switched balls. He took a risk. This time he lost.

In the same way as he had done the week before, he tried to anticipate what would happen on the lane. This time, it wasn’t the winning choice. This time, what he thought was going to happen, didn’t happen.

But here’s the thing – that doesn’t mean that he was wrong to make that decision. Sometimes taking the risk doesn’t pay off. Sometimes that guess isn’t right. But, sometimes it is. And it’s okay to not always make the “right” choice. This is not an easy sport. Sometimes you won’t get it right. But there’s nothing wrong with not always getting it right. You shouldn’t be scared to make the wrong choice. Because if you are, you’ll probably also miss the right choice because you’ll be too afraid to make any new choices. You’ll just keep doing what you’re doing. And that won’t get you ahead either.

It is important to take risks AND to fully believe in your choice. Don’t worry about what the other choices could be. Make your choice and get 100% behind it. Most of the time it will pay off, and even when it doesn’t, don’t let it stop you from taking a risk again in the future. Being bold, and being bold enough to get behind your risky decisions, that’s a hard quality to have. The best in the world has that quality though.

I spoke with Jason after the loss at the US Open. He was definitely really disappointed. Anyone would be, after the fact. He was questioning whether he should have changed the ball. And I reminded him, “sometimes you’re going to make bold moves, and it’s gonna pay off. But sometimes it’s not. You should be proud that you kept trying to figure it out and you believed in it. If you didn’t take the risk, and still lost, you’d kick yourself too. What’s important is that you’re all in. And you WERE all in.”

He echoed my statement by responding, “It didn’t work out this week. But you have to swing for the fences.”

What’s important really is that you’re all in. Jason was. He really believed. At that moment, he thought, I’m going to take this risk and I’m going to put everything I have behind it.

No second-guessing. When you second guess something, even when your choice is “right,” you might still get a choice wrong. You might not fully execute it. And sometimes when you make the wrong decision with enough conviction, it could be enough for it to still pay off.

I’ve learned that if you go up on the approach and you are second-guessing yourself, or maybe if there’s another option you’re focusing on, it will never turn out the way that you want it to. It’s almost like the pins know that you’re doubting. That’s where the mental game comes into play. You may remember the story I told about the World Ranking Masters tournament when I was completely lost on the lanes and my ball rep told me to go up there and just feel lucky. At first, I thought that was crazy and ridiculous. But then it worked because I really got behind that idea.

It’s really just about getting behind whatever you are doing with conviction. Dispelling all doubts. When you doubt, that’s when you have more splits, more missed spares.

So which one are you? The one playing it safe? The one that always stays within their comfort zone and lets the fear of the unknown win? Or, are you a Belmo? Do you take risks knowing fully that sometimes it won’t be the winning guess? 

This idea goes beyond the lanes, when you are faced with a decision in your life. Maybe it’s “do I stay close to home for college?”  Are you tempted to stay in your comfort zone? Or, do you take a risk and move out on your own across the country for college? 

It’s time to get out of your comfort zone. It’s time to stop fearing the unknown. Take risks. Live boldly. As Belmo would say, swing for the fences!

Will you always make the “right” decisions? No way. But, to me, there is nothing worse than regret.