Find Your Strength

            Sometimes, it feels like life is passing us by, like we blink and we’ve missed it.  Other times it seems like we’re stuck, and no matter what we do we can’t get out of a situation.  Sometimes, we get so used to patterns that they become cages.  Sometimes we let our minds turn things that we’re not good at into things we can’t do.  I know I do that last one a lot.

            Each of us are good at some things and bad at others.  That’s a given.  The problem is when we start believing that because we’re not good at something, or it isn’t easy, we shouldn’t try.  I realized this once again this past week.  I'm good with words, that’s my strength.  Writing comes naturally to me, it’s easy and it’s simple, and it’s what I'm good at.

            I'm not so good at sports, I never have been.  I used to get frustrated when I'd watch someone pick up a ball/puck/bat/etc. for the first time, and instantly be good at it, while I had to work at it long and hard, and I still usually wouldn’t be as good.  So, I went in other directions, did things I was better at; and I was ok with that.

            Last week, some of my friends were playing volleyball, and I felt the odd compulsion to join them.  So, I did, and I was bad at it.  But, as the week progressed, and I played more, I started getting better, I'm still awful, and that’s ok.  But, that’s not the point.  This week, I learned to do a backflip.  It was really difficult, and every time I hit the water wrong, it hurt.  But, when I finally got it right, I found that it was all worth it.  I had done something that I never would have thought possible, and it was amazing.

            I'm trying not to limit myself anymore, because—doing that—I've missed out on so much.  I look back, and I wonder what I was thinking.  But, that doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that we can do the things that challenge us, and the things we’re not good at, because they make us stronger.  We talk about wanting to be free.  We get angry when people or governments try to take away our freedom, but strongest prisons are the ones we build ourselves.

            There was this movie I watched a couple times as a kid, the main line was “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”  This week, I remembered that.  I challenge you to do the same.  Find something you’re not good at, something you tell yourself you can’t do, and go do it.  It’s ok if you mess up, if you get frustrated, if it takes you longer than everyone else.  You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to be the best, you just have to do it.  I promise you, the pride and confidence you get from overcoming your fear of failure is more than worth the cost.

            –The Shadow Knight