By: Freddy
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I believe in living in the moment and accepting life as it is. When life forces us to leave behind something good, the best thing we can do is take the change in stride and make the most out of what life gives us. We can never get too used to our situation because things can go from good to bad in an instant.
That’s exactly what happened when I broke my collarbone, a week before the hockey playoffs. No more hockey, no more starting goalie, no more state title. I couldn’t help thinking, “Why didn’t I skip skiing? Why did this happen to me?” The more these thoughts entered my mind, the worse I felt. I had no control over my situation or my team’s play, making it impossible for me to do anything about it. My feeling of helplessness reached its pinnacle the weekend of state playoffs, as I was forced to sit on the bench only to watch my team lose. It was during this moment when I was at my lowest, that I was able to find the courage to accept my situation.
After the second game, my coach Chris told me how stressful the games could get sitting on the bench. I realized that Chris, the coach, the leader of the team, was just as helpless as I was when it came to our team winning and losing. A coach is just as much a part of the team as anyone else, yet when it comes to game day, he has the least control out of anyone over what happens out on the ice. All he can do is inspire us to go out there and play the way he’s taught us to. He has already accepted his situation, and does what he can with it.
I couldn’t help my feeling of regret though, and nothing seemed to get any easier for me. As the championship game was approaching I knew that I had stop feeling sorry for myself, because the team would need me to be there for them, whatever way I could. As an injured player sitting on the bench, the only thing I could control was my attitude and my ability to encourage and motivate my teammates. I told myself there was nothing more I could do, and whatever happens, happens. My team eventually lost in overtime, but I had come to terms with my circumstances and put my regrets behind me. I was finally able to move on. All this made me realize that it is our regrets that prevent us from living our lives.
Regrets cause you to live in the past, and prevent you from living in the moment. I believe that the only way to live life to its fullest extent is to try to live a life without regrets, because the best goal is one that is unattainable. Only a perfect person can live without regrets, but we can reduce our regrets if we can learn to live in the moment and make the most of our situations. If you push yourself towards a goal that can’t be reached there’s no limit to how far you can go. Because you’ll never be able to satisfy that goal, it forces you to never be complacent. True happiness is found in accepting the things we cannot control, and waking up to our lives and dealing with them as they are. Life doesn’t happen in the past, and the future never gets here, so take life as it comes.