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Motivation Quote by Babe Zaharias

"It's not just enough to swing at the ball. You've got to loosen your girdle and really let the ball have it"

About this Quote

The line blends practical advice with irreverent bravado. Coming from Babe Didrikson Zaharias, a multi-sport phenomenon who blazed from Olympic track and field into championship golf, it urges more than mere contact. Do not just meet the ball; relax, commit, and unleash everything you have. The joking image of loosening a girdle carries a double charge. On a physical level, tension kills a swing. Power flows from freedom in the hips and torso, from a supple sequence rather than a stiff jab. On a cultural level, the girdle was a symbol of how women were expected to contain themselves. Zaharias turns that symbol on its head, telling players to shed constriction, literal and social, and hit with unapologetic force.

Her career made the point. She was famous for long, fearless shots and for a performance style that refused to be hemmed in by expectations of ladylike restraint. In the 1930s through the 1950s, women athletes were routinely policed for how they moved, spoke, and dressed. Zaharias met that scrutiny with humor and audacity, owning both her femininity and her competitive fire. The line teases, but it is also a manifesto: play big, do not apologize, and let results speak.

There is a psychological lesson, too. Half-hearted effort is often worse than none. When you tense up or worry about form, judgment, or failure, you cut off the very fluidity that creates speed and accuracy. Trust your preparation, let go of inhibition, and deliver with conviction. The ball will not reward caution; it responds to a relaxed body and a decisive mind.

So the instruction is as much about life as sport. Do not go through the motions, constrained by habit or expectation. Loosen what binds you, find your rhythm, and really let the moment have it.

Quote Details

TopicSports
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Its not just enough to swing at the ball. Youve got to loosen your girdle and really let the ball have it
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Babe Zaharias (June 26, 1911 - September 27, 1958) was a Athlete from USA.

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