Watching a few kids play a version of baseball on a ball field reminds me of some important lessons learned from such games. I caught myself wondering, “Did he leave an invisible man on second?” I smiled from a distance at the three kids when the thought crossed my mind.

For those of you who didn’t have the pleasure of playing while using the “invisible man” rule, let me explain.  We all know that baseball requires nine players on the field, but there are ways to play with teams of one. The group that I watched today seemed to be playing with three teams, each of one player. Such play requires special rules regarding making outs, scoring runs and such. One of them is the use of the “invisible man.” When the person at bat gets a hit and stops at a base, he can leave an “invisible man” there.  The player than goes back to bat with an “invisible man” at the base. If he gets another hit, the “invisible man” moves up the appropriate number of bases, based on the latest hit.  And so it goes, advancing invisible players around the bases, including scoring runs, until the player gets the appropriate number of outs to lose his time at bat (this may or may not be three outs).

Three nuggets of wisdom stood out as I watched the kids play; the lessons apply to more than makeshift games of ball.

Make do with what you have

Sometimes you have to go with what you have and make the best of it, whether it is a game, a business decision, a personal challenge, a project…most anything in life. We can’t wait to act until we have all the equipment, all the people, all the stars aligned…sometimes we simply have to make the best with what we have and go forward.

Be accountable

One of the key elements that makes the “invisible man” rule work is accountability born in trust. All players agree that there is a baserunner that moves up the number of bases appropriate to any follow-up hits. It seems accountability and trust, writ large or small, or missing in a lot of life’s arenas now.

Find joy and happiness with those around you

The three kids were not griping that they did not have the “right” number of players with a ton of fancy equipment. They were not sitting on benches, staring at smartphones. They were not commiserating about how they could have fun “if only” there were more players, more equipment, more time. They were not grumpy about not having more players to chase down grounders and fly balls; they pursued them. There are no umpires; they worked out such calls between themselves. Their commitment was to play and each other…to happiness and joy with those around them. Sure sounds like a good strategy to me.

Watch kids at makeshift play. Likely, there is wisdom in the fun.