When I was taking martial arts (Taekwondo to be specific), I learned many valuable life lessons. One particularly painful one was on my path to black belt. I was a green belt at the time, and had zero experience with sparring (practice fighting, with minimal contact) and was eager to test myself. I had the opportunity when a more senior student wanted a sparring partner. I'm still not sure why, but he apparently wanted to punish me. The sparring was completely one-sided. I didn't have a hope of competing with him, yet he pulverized me. I was hopelessly out-classed. By the end of the experience, I was a sobbing mess, and totally humiliated.
Yet, I view this experience as one of the most formative events in my life. Why? Well, it taught me several things. One, don't pick a fight with someone way better than you. Two, learn your own limits. Three, don't be upset if someone knows more than you. Finally, some people are jerks, no matter what you do. There are more lessons, but those were the big ones. It took a long time for me to understand the scope of the lessons, and perhaps I still don't. Either way, I learned fast and pretty soon I was so much better than the guy, he never even tried for a rematch. I didn't asked for one.
Life has a lot of times like that, when we face situations which totally overpower us. However, we are the ones who choose to be humiliated or humbled. It's all in the way you look at it. On one hand, it can be defeating, while on the other it's only a set back. A good dose of humility can keep you from showing off and being an idiot. I wish life made such lessons easier, but so be it.
So, if you find yourself up against a twenty-foot bulldog, suck it up and smile. Just a little helpful advice.
- M
No comments:
Post a Comment