Whatever gives us the impression that we’ll have the perfect day? It’s so interesting to me – as an athlete growing up (like the die-hard, only-way-I-spent-my-time kind), I struggled to maintain a high expectation of myself with the reality that I was not capable of a mistake-less game or practice. I mean, I’m certain my coaches had something to do with that…I only need 4 fingers to count the coaches that didn’t perpetuate this stifling conundrum, and friends, that’s out of close to 20 different coaches in my athletic career (that I can remember by face and name).
Why are we so quick to be abhorred by our errors as if we’re confused that we are capable of them?
@ThePurposedSailor
Anyways, why are we so quick to be abhorred by our errors as if we’re confused that we are capable of them? Sure, the consequences are a little (or a lot) different when following an error (in sport and in life) but why must we invite shame into the mix? Why must excellence have to equal perfection? Ugh. It’s annoying.
In sport…. Failures are what make you better.
The natural athlete eventually gets passed up by the athlete that grinds through, mistake after mistake, to get better and better. And ultimately, the sign of a top-notch athlete isn’t their perfect performance, but how they recover from their errors. Today, while coaching my daughter’s 7th/8th grade volleyball team, they were getting pretty down on themselves because a tough server just kept serving tough (as she should) and despite our many adjustments, we simply couldn’t get a play going. We called a timeout and I told them, ‘Girls, the bottom line is that she’s a great server! I also know that you girls work hard and have grit. So, go back out there and let that server make you a better player by trying new things to get the play going.” We didn’t end up winning on the scoreboard, but the girls won at learning a little more about how to recover from their mistakes.
In life…. Don’t write the end of your story by the failures of today.
Raise your hand if you’ve already concluded your story because of a mistake. And be honest. *raises hand. And raises the other one, too. How often do we find ourselves spiraling because of an error? Playing out all of the scenarios that we just know will happen? Fretting and losing our sense of logic as the emotions of shame create a vacuum into despair? Frozen in place, unsure of our worth, because our error ripped us out of our denial that we aren’t perfect. Maybe it’s just me. It makes me wonder – if we lived by the sentiment above – how might its grace invade our thought-life? Our relationships? Our competitions? Our professions? Our responsibilities? Our experiences? How might it propel excellence, not because of perfection but because of humility? How might it end a cycle of giving-up and instead create a cycle of gain.
Fortunately I have grabbed a hold of this anchor because of my cancer story. I value grace in a way that boy, oh boy, had I figured this out sooner………….well, the memories would be very different. Yet even in that, if I apply that same sentiment to this, I have learned (right when I’ve needed to), the humility in grace and the richness in a grace-filled life. Now, I am tasked with living it out, practicing not perfection but application. Day by not-perfect day.
Today I…
Sunday: Learned
Monday: Chose; said yes/no to
Tuesday: Loved
Wednesday: Prayed
Thursday: Was challenged by/to
Friday: Am grateful for
Saturday: Saw grace in
*Post 1035
Reality :: 1/30/18 :: Post 152
It’s such a strange thing to be in the midst of this battle and yet have moments where I am re-experiencing the shock of “You have cancer.”
It’s a bizarre reality.
It’s an odd back-and-forth of acceptance and denial. And while I find my head and heart in the back-and-forth, my body remains ever so present in the reality.
Today was one of those days where I felt every bit of battle-worn yet struggled to comprehend the realness (and bigness) of cancer.
Really? Cancer. Can.cer. C.a.n.c.e.r.
Day 9 brought a little more energy and a little less ick. It brought brief moments of feeling so well that I got glimpses of the “bad” chemo being totally behind me. (As if the next 12 rounds are the “good” chemo… ?)
But that’s the thing…they were brief moments. As the moments ended because I felt a wave of ick, I was again reminded that I do, in fact, have cancer. That my body has been brutalized by a barbaric surgery and literal poison. That my body still has to fight and survive the lasting effects. That soon I will have to endure day after day after day of radiation. That I have to put my body through life-altering health risks just to battle the current life-threatening one.
That I will have cancer as a part of my story. That I will have oncologists for the rest of my life. That I will wrestle with the fear of recurrence and experience more “waiting for results” for years to come.
Whoa.
I’m one day closer, though.
Hmmm :: 1/30/19 :: Post 505
I do not feel well. My stomach hurts. My emotions are low.
I wonder if this is my new normal….
(No post for 1/30/20)