Come on in out of the cold, and enjoy the fire. Typical Saskatchewan weather, give ya some warm, then slam you with some cold once you've put the parka away. Well we have some yummy soup and grilled cheese sammiches. Dig in.
So a good friend of mine is going to do something today she hasn't done yet. And she's very nervous. I understand nerves. When you're about to do something you really care about you tend to get nervous because you don't want to screw up. As well if it is something where you are representing more than just yourself you don't want to be a bad representative.
It made me think of my days playing football. ('Gee Coyote, what doesn't relate to your days playing football?' Nothing. I learned more in my days of football about what life was really like than just about anywhere else. 'Oh well. I was mainly just making fun of you.' I know. I learned about that in football too.) I remember how worked up I got before a game. I was jittery, shaking with anticipation and fear. It didn't matter that I'd dedicated hundreds of hours to making myself a better football player, it all comes down to game day. Until that first hit I was caught between pissing myself and puking. Dunno how I got through so many games without doing either, but I did.
Once that first hit came though, my body would take over. Sure my mind was there but you don't think once you're in the moment, you just do. If you have to think you're already beat. You practice and think then so you don't have to during the game. And I think that is what a lot of things are like. Practice, so when you get to the big moment you don't have to think, you just do.
I also believe the nerves are necessary. It is your body purging the mind of energy, because it knows what to do, it knows the moves, the footwork, the balance, and the rhythm. Almost like a defense mechanism to keep your mind busy so it can't fuck up what the body knows it can do.
So to you, my friend, good luck. Nerves are good. And as I told you before, I've watched you perform. You obviously love doing it and put a lot of yourself into it, and because of that, when the time comes, let your body do what it knows to do.
2 comments:
Your friend probably really appreciates your support and encouragement! Hopefully it helped this person not eff up too badly...
(grin)
I totally agree with what you said Coyote. My days in the army taught me a lot of those same things. The mind is there but your body just goes into autopilot. The last few years, our demonstration at Mosaic still makes me shake. Partly because I get the jitters in front of crowds, but also because I don't want to be a poor showing of my martial art, my club and my instructor. But similarly, the brain shuts it all out as soon as you start going.
I am sure your friend, despite the jitters, did an outstanding job.
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