That's probably one question that continuously pops up in my mind.
What if...?
What if...?
What's going to happen if it doesn't work...?
If I do that, what will happen?
It's a terrifying question, because the only way to find the exact answer is to do something.
When school started in the fall, everyone was talking about the different sports teams at school. I decided on the same 3 sports that I'd played in grade 10 and 11, but there was a little voice in the back of my head that was telling me to rejoin the wrestling team.
After an incredibly successful wrestling career from grade 5 to grade 9, I quit.
I had spent all of August 2011 travelling the world; I wrestled for team Canada in Mexico and toured Europe with some of the top wrestlers in my age group.
Then I got home, went to one practice, and quit.
It came as a HUGE shock to everyone, including myself. I had just wrestled for TEAM CANADA! I should be working my butt off to keep getting better and better and better.
But that same little voice was there.
'It's not worth it'
'You don't love it anymore'
'It's taking over your life'
'Cutting weight isnt healthy'
And that little voice was right. My life was completely revolving around wrestling; I had to watch what I ate, I couldnt play soccer anymore because of summer training camps and tournaments, I was gone almost every weekend from October to April, and I was completely exhausted.
After I quit, I was able to rejoin all of the sports that I had been missing, I had a social life, and I was at a healthy weight again. Life was pretty great, and the little voice went quiet.
But the voice came back. I was reorganizing my closet and I found my old team Canada singlets.
'Might as well try them on, see if they still fit, right?'
So I did, and it felt good.
After strutting around the house for a while, I went back to my closet. 5 minutes later, I found my grade 9 OFSAA wrestling sweater.
'Oh look at that, another thing to try on!'
But this sweater didnt fit.
The arms and body were WAY to short.
'Oh isn't that a shame.. Guess you need to get a new OFSAA sweater.'
That thought got me started on a list in my head... What could I go to OFSAA for??
Flag football? Yeah we won GBs, but there isnt an OFSAA, and 'GB champs' just doesnt have the same ring as 'OFSAA'.
Badminton? No way. I just do that for fun, the chances of me making to to GBs is slim to none, let alone OFSAA.
Soccer? Our team didnt win a single game last year, so that's not even an option.
'What about wrestling...?'
Hmm.... Might as well try it right?
At first I was extremely hesitant about the idea... What if I suck? What if I embarrass myself in front of everyone?
'You'll never know until you try'
So I rejoined the wrestling team.
And won my first tournament without getting a single point scored on me.
'Well would you look at that, you've still got it.'
3 months later, I'm at OFSAA with a brand new sweater in my hands.
The question 'what if' should never be the thing to stop you from doing what you want, because there's no way to know what will happen until it happens. Sometimes, it's a chance you have to take to get the payoff that you want.
Then I got home, went to one practice, and quit.
It came as a HUGE shock to everyone, including myself. I had just wrestled for TEAM CANADA! I should be working my butt off to keep getting better and better and better.
But that same little voice was there.
'It's not worth it'
'You don't love it anymore'
'It's taking over your life'
'Cutting weight isnt healthy'
And that little voice was right. My life was completely revolving around wrestling; I had to watch what I ate, I couldnt play soccer anymore because of summer training camps and tournaments, I was gone almost every weekend from October to April, and I was completely exhausted.
After I quit, I was able to rejoin all of the sports that I had been missing, I had a social life, and I was at a healthy weight again. Life was pretty great, and the little voice went quiet.
But the voice came back. I was reorganizing my closet and I found my old team Canada singlets.
'Might as well try them on, see if they still fit, right?'
So I did, and it felt good.
After strutting around the house for a while, I went back to my closet. 5 minutes later, I found my grade 9 OFSAA wrestling sweater.
'Oh look at that, another thing to try on!'
But this sweater didnt fit.
The arms and body were WAY to short.
'Oh isn't that a shame.. Guess you need to get a new OFSAA sweater.'
That thought got me started on a list in my head... What could I go to OFSAA for??
Flag football? Yeah we won GBs, but there isnt an OFSAA, and 'GB champs' just doesnt have the same ring as 'OFSAA'.
Badminton? No way. I just do that for fun, the chances of me making to to GBs is slim to none, let alone OFSAA.
Soccer? Our team didnt win a single game last year, so that's not even an option.
'What about wrestling...?'
Hmm.... Might as well try it right?
At first I was extremely hesitant about the idea... What if I suck? What if I embarrass myself in front of everyone?
'You'll never know until you try'
So I rejoined the wrestling team.
And won my first tournament without getting a single point scored on me.
'Well would you look at that, you've still got it.'
3 months later, I'm at OFSAA with a brand new sweater in my hands.
The question 'what if' should never be the thing to stop you from doing what you want, because there's no way to know what will happen until it happens. Sometimes, it's a chance you have to take to get the payoff that you want.
No comments:
Post a Comment