Re:How I Blew Out My Knee and Came Back to Win a National Ch...
by Alex3917 on Wednesday January 19, 2011 @02:11PM
(#2120850)
"If you think sports is about just impressing other people, then I'm guessing you've never played a sport at a high level."
In college I was the fastest lightweight rower on the #1 ranked team in the country. I was within a couple seconds of the Olympic time standard when I found out that I had a minor lower back problem and quit the same day. The thing is, the only thing I can't do right now is row competitively, I have no day-to-day health problems. Whereas most of my friends who had similar problems and kept going are now in horrible pain just from walking around and sitting at their desks, and a bunch of them are strung out on drugs as a result.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing I love more than getting to go out and fuck up someone else's day, but I feel like part of being an adult is learning how to do that in ways that further your actual life goals (e.g. through a startup) rather than just spending six hours a day in the gym or whatever.
"Being able to unify your mind and body at a high level in competition... it's one of the most cerebral, peak experiences, and it shapes and develops your character henceforth forever afterwards."
I agree completely. But as Alan Watts famously said, "Once you get the message, hang up the phone."
In college I was the fastest lightweight rower on the #1 ranked team in the country. I was within a couple seconds of the Olympic time standard when I found out that I had a minor lower back problem and quit the same day. The thing is, the only thing I can't do right now is row competitively, I have no day-to-day health problems. Whereas most of my friends who had similar problems and kept going are now in horrible pain just from walking around and sitting at their desks, and a bunch of them are strung out on drugs as a result.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing I love more than getting to go out and fuck up someone else's day, but I feel like part of being an adult is learning how to do that in ways that further your actual life goals (e.g. through a startup) rather than just spending six hours a day in the gym or whatever.
"Being able to unify your mind and body at a high level in competition... it's one of the most cerebral, peak experiences, and it shapes and develops your character henceforth forever afterwards."
I agree completely. But as Alan Watts famously said, "Once you get the message, hang up the phone."