Savannah Bananas star Robert Anthony Cruz — a.k.a. Coach RAC — shared an important lesson about self-confidence.
“A lot of people have asked me, ‘How did you get the courage to try this [trick] live on ESPN in front of 40,000 people?’” he said in an Instagram video. “It’s not because I’m naturally self-confident. It’s also not because this catch is second nature to me — it’s not. In fact, I don’t even have a history of being that confident.”
Cruz admitted that, throughout his baseball career, he has often felt anxiety “because I was so scared of what people might think of me.”
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“So, why am I confident now?” he asked. “It is not my success that has built my identity and self-confidence. It is the exact opposite. I have failed publicly a lot…it’s those very failures that have given me an unshakeable confidence.”
Cruz continued, “After every single one of those failures, when other people would look at me as lesser, I would be reminded of a God who sees me exactly the same. Who calls me His beloved child, whether or not I succeed or fail. I have learned to build my identity in the way that God sees me instead of the way other people see me, and I’ve found that the fear inside of me is often rooted in a fear of being rejected by other people.”
“I have learned to welcome failure, to welcome embarrassment,” he concluded. “I care what you think, but not that much. I care what God thinks.”
In a conversation with Redland News, Cruz shared how his embarrassing moments have actually brought him closer to people. For example, he attempted a backflip on live TV and fell flat on his face.
“That was quite an experience,” he recalled. “That was an embarrassing moment that happened but I posted about it and shared my experience over what it’s like to be embarrassed and I wound up receiving a lot of messages from parents and kids out there who were saying things like, ‘Oh, I had this embarrassing moment when I was 12 years old …’ or, ‘I saw that happen to you a few weeks ago and to see you go through that and come out OK on the other side was an encouragement to me.’”
Cruz is also open about his Christian faith, telling Crosswalk it’s “the only thing that has satisfied my soul.”
“I can’t help but be outspoken about it, because I love people, and I want them to experience that same peace and joy,” he finished.
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