七転び八起き
Post last updated 1 month, 3 weeks ago
The title reads as nana korobi ya oki and translates to fall seven times, stand up eight. I love its meaning and its simplicity. Being humbled from time to time is great. I mean, it sucks, but it's great, especially for someone who easily gets a God complex.
(Un)Fortunately, I've always been good to great in school with little effort.
Sure, the step-ups from village school to town high school to one of the best1 universities in the country were a bit rough, but after some accommodation it was a breeze. I didn't need to try too hard to learn, and being lazy, I'd plateau easily without competition.
This made me not the best with trying, even though I still have moments when I become hyperfixated on something and drill it until I get the hang of it. But I saw that I try my hardest when there is competition. And none of my activities illustrates this better than football.
In my childhood, I'd train on my own2 for hours at a time, practicing juggling, shots at the goal, dribblings over and over again. I loved it, but I loved even more the satisfaction I'd get when playing against someone for the first time and him (usually it was a him) asking, "Have you played at a club or something?" after I'd make a good game.
And most of my games are at least good. I don't care about them. Some of my games are spectacular, and I love them. Some of my games are dogshit, and I love them too, even though in that moment I am angry at myself. I love them because it's a reminder that I still need to put in effort and that it's not a given I would play well.
And the next time I play well feels even better.
As you might've guessed, I don't see failure as something bad but as a chance to get better. Indeed, at that moment, it might look and feel like the end of the world, but in hindsight, you'll probably be at least pleasantly surprised at yourself for overcoming the hurdle. I feel like we've become excessively reluctant to failure and give up way too easily. I'll end this post with another quote I like: The master has failed more times than the beginner has tried.
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