Calm before the Storm

When you were young and just getting started in certain activities, maybe even competitively, the thing that was drilled into your head over and over again was to have fun. I remember the first bad loss I experienced, playing minor league baseball. I was 8 years old and we were getting pounded by another team and I was bumming. Then something happened. I can't really say how or why, but something in me shifted and I came to a realization that I tried to take with me from that day on. I was playing baseball. I was lucky. I loved this game and I loved playing it. I remember smiling to myself and pounding my glove a few times for emphasis. I begun to have fun, even though the game was going horribly. Throughout all the highs and lows of competing and performing, if you really love something then you should have fun doing it. Wins and losses will come and go but the ride is what really counts. Sometimes that is bound to get lost in the shuffle since people have a tendency to focus on results a little too often. And while clearly that matters some, if your journey to the top is lifeless and lacking passion, you are robbing yourself of a truly great life experience. Obviously I would love to make a deep run in this tournament starting tomorrow. But I'm also going to try to step back and enjoy the moment as it is happening, it was quite a road getting here and I owe it myself to go on sensory overload. Sometimes forgotten, yet so simple and so true to life ---

Have fun.

I know I will.