Sports & Humility
“When you learn a sport, you go through the cycle of humility. You learn about yourself.” – Wesley Clark
The context is Clark considering a late-life career as a teaching golf pro. Funny that this quote should appear today, because I’ve thinking about that. Not the golf, the humility.
I recently started playing sand volleyball with a group of people that play at a higher level than the folks I’d been playing with. I’ve gone from being among the most competitive and capable players to among the least. It’s not unexpected and I made the shift knowing that this was likely to happen. Still, I’ve been struck by the humility necessary in improving at the game.
It’s almost contradictory, but sometimes you have to acknowledge how terrible you are at the skills you are most proud of.
Yeah – humility (same root as humiliate – what happens to you when you forget humility) Learning any new skill fits the bill – new musical instruments as well as sales skills or a new language — especially when we are on some kind of stage
November 24th, 2003 at 1:35 pm
Love that idea, Luke, it rings true.
I guess it all depends from where on the mountain you look at the climber. If you look at the climber who’s half-way up, from the top of the mountain, he looks small. If you look at him from space, he’s a spec, no matter what.
As long as the climber is either making the most of, or enjoying the challenge somehow, it’s probably good . . .
January 24th, 2004 at 1:22 pm