U.S.: Reflections on Hockey
And so the story goes; in retrospect I realize I learned a whole lot more than I had thought at the time.
Hockey. It's a common Minnesota sport and has been my family's obsession for as long as I can remember. Following in my brother's footsteps, I learned to skate at the age of 3 and started playing on my first team at the age of 10. My younger brothers also followed suit and we eventually grew into a family of four goaltenders. Cute, right?
For 10+ years of my life I spent my winters (and summers, let's be honest) at the rink and from those years I've compiled a list of reflections from all of those experiences:
- It's impossible to go through life without teamwork. It's the backbone of human relationships. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, and as a collective unit each member brings his or her own gifts to the table to create something awesome. Also, a good thing about teamwork is: if one person has a bad day, somebody's there to back that person up and to help him or her realize that tomorrow things will be better.
- It's easy to be confident when you're in control; it's much more difficult to keep that confidence when you're not. Conflict is inevitable. The ability to adjust to unexpected bounces makes the difference between being successful and being overwhelmed into thinking that nothing will ever go your way.
-Nothing is ever completely fair. It's easier to blame someone or something else for your misfortune, but that doesn't make it right. Excuses don't exist.
-Accept compliments when you deserve them. Accept criticism when you deserve it. Whether you're at the top or the bottom, your position can always change.
-Competition is healthy.
-Believe in your abilities. Just about anything can be achieved if you achieve it in your mind first. It may take hard work, but YOU CAN DO IT.
-All things come to an end. Luckily, there is life beyond hockey.
I doubt I will find any hockey rinks in Nicaragua, and I am okay with that. It's fair to say that the lessons learned from my years of playing hockey are enough to carry me forward.
For 10+ years of my life I spent my winters (and summers, let's be honest) at the rink and from those years I've compiled a list of reflections from all of those experiences:
- It's impossible to go through life without teamwork. It's the backbone of human relationships. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, and as a collective unit each member brings his or her own gifts to the table to create something awesome. Also, a good thing about teamwork is: if one person has a bad day, somebody's there to back that person up and to help him or her realize that tomorrow things will be better.
- It's easy to be confident when you're in control; it's much more difficult to keep that confidence when you're not. Conflict is inevitable. The ability to adjust to unexpected bounces makes the difference between being successful and being overwhelmed into thinking that nothing will ever go your way.
-Nothing is ever completely fair. It's easier to blame someone or something else for your misfortune, but that doesn't make it right. Excuses don't exist.
-Accept compliments when you deserve them. Accept criticism when you deserve it. Whether you're at the top or the bottom, your position can always change.
-Competition is healthy.
-Believe in your abilities. Just about anything can be achieved if you achieve it in your mind first. It may take hard work, but YOU CAN DO IT.
-All things come to an end. Luckily, there is life beyond hockey.
I doubt I will find any hockey rinks in Nicaragua, and I am okay with that. It's fair to say that the lessons learned from my years of playing hockey are enough to carry me forward.
Comments
Post a Comment