Insight From Contradiction

Words and expressions that contradict themselves can initially be a head-scratcher. They cause confusion and bewilderment, or, on occasion, offer amusing insight. 

No one in history was better at providing seemingly foolish insights through contradiction than New York Yankees baseball legend Yogi Berra. Ironically, his so-called Yogi-isms made him more famous for his witty observations than for his Hall of Fame baseball career. 

Some of Berra’s captured quotes are now part of American popular culture: 

• “It ain’t over till it’s over.” 

• “We’re lost but making good time.” 

• “No one goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

• “The future ain’t what it used to be.” 

• “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.” 

• “You can observe a lot by watching.” 

• “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” 

Here’s one more favorite: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

Berra feigned that he wasn’t intentional about many of his quotes, and maybe that was so, but he was exceptionally fast on his feet. After being told before a big ballgame that he looked “nice and cool,” he replied, “Thanks, you don’t look so hot yourself.” 

One of Berra’s contradictory insights stands out as especially important for leaders and high performers. He reminded those engaged in executing difficult movements and routines to stay grounded in what works and not to overthink it: “In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.” Most people read that Berra quote a few times and then smile. 

For Berra, a great hitter and catcher of the baseball, execution required as little thought as possible. He believed a person’s ability to execute an action could be jeopardized by whether they think about that action during performance.

Like most great performers, Berra trained himself to execute through constant feedback and high repetition. When it came time to perform, he put his mind on autopilot, doing his best not to think about what he was attempting to do. Sound advice. 

Yogi Berra gave us lots to think about, reminding us through his verbal contortions how to keep our eye on the ball and to test our assumptions. Whether those expressions were deeply thoughtful or truly spontaneous, we will never know; however, with more than 100 of them, the odds are Berra was mischievously clever in a way no one else has equaled. 

Even in denial, he maintained his folksy charm. “I never said half of the things I said,” he told people who asked him how he came up with his sayings. We’re just glad he said most of them.