Regret can be a Strangely Motivating Thing

My motivation for this post is coming from the pressures of school that I’m feeling right now. There are only a handful of things I regret. I can say that honestly because I’ve tried to live my life with the motto of no regrets. I don’t want to look back and wish I would’ve made a different choice.

I thought about it a lot for this post and really and truly just a couple things. The reason I bring it up is to help you see that doing this kind of assessment is not only good, but motivating as well. It’s good because there comes a time when you have to learn a lesson and just let it go but getting to that point, at least for me, was tough. I thought I’d share a couple of my stories to help you get started…

College Volleyball..I loved (and still do) volleyball.
In high school it was, by far, my favorite sport. I loved it so much that it was my one and only goal when talk of college came up (did I mention I don’t think I was great?). None the less, I ended up going to my local Junior college for 2 years and walked on their team.

In two years, I went from walk on to a stating setter (an accomplishment I still take a little pride in) to a highly recruited prospect. (I know…you’re asking where the regret comes into play? Don’t worry, it’s coming).

Anyway, I again, became very short sighted by only wanting to play for, what I considered, a good division 1 school even though there were a handful of amazing schools that I could’ve gone to. I made my choice and trained all summer as prescribed by my coach. Once preseason started I was beyond excited and physically prepared. What I wasn’t prepared for was the mental toughness I would need. I was playing on a level unlike any I had ever experienced. (to illustrated, the coach would make us watch game film of the Chinese national team which at the time was on top). I wasn’t prepared. The pressure became too much and I cracked. The team tried to help, I got a sports phycologist but it was too late. I went running home with my tail between my legs and it’s bothered me ever since. This is one scenario that I usually don’t even like to talk about because I’m embarrassed. In the time since this has happened I can look at how I approach a challenge and see positives and negatives of this experience coming through.

Fitness Competition…after college I got back into fitness full time through running and weight lifting. I worked out at a gym that was home to an amazing fitness competitor who often talked about the sport with me. So much so that I decided to give it a try. With memories of my volleyball debacle still fresh, I approached it with an optimistic reality. I worked and worked and got to a pivotal point where I felt I had to make a decision.

• First, I can’t get rid of them, they won’t go away. They live right next door to my moms voice (aka my voice of reason) and that’s where they’ll stay. But I prefer it this way.
• Every time I want to quit or give up on a goal, I remember how I felt in the scenarios above and that is usually the exact kick in the pants I need to get up and over the hump.