Monkeys and transcendentalism
First sign of a decent post, good title.
I've heard a lot of people over the years talk about how they live with no regrets. Especially professional athletes. I disagree with the entire notion of living life with no regrets, especially in athletics. Dissapointment is a great motivator. Or at least the dislike of dissapointment. I regret doing and not doing a lot of things, at least it seems like a lot of things. I regret not being able to throw a descent io flick a year ago while playing against Georgia Tech in frisbee. I made a pass that I should have practiced more before I made, or didn't make. It was bad. I was dissapointed and I regret not practicing enough to make that pass. Today I can make that pass with my eyes closed and in high wind. I practiced because of the regret. Thoreau says it like this,
First sign of a decent post, good title.
I've heard a lot of people over the years talk about how they live with no regrets. Especially professional athletes. I disagree with the entire notion of living life with no regrets, especially in athletics. Dissapointment is a great motivator. Or at least the dislike of dissapointment. I regret doing and not doing a lot of things, at least it seems like a lot of things. I regret not being able to throw a descent io flick a year ago while playing against Georgia Tech in frisbee. I made a pass that I should have practiced more before I made, or didn't make. It was bad. I was dissapointed and I regret not practicing enough to make that pass. Today I can make that pass with my eyes closed and in high wind. I practiced because of the regret. Thoreau says it like this,
"Make the most of your regrets. . . . To regret deeply is to live afresh"
I think regret makes me want to never make the same mistake again. I also think Thoreau would have written in green. Regret has become a pretty huge driving force in my life. At the same time I think we can become to envolved in our regret and mis the part where we're supposed to do something about it.
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."- Alexander Graham Bell.
MMM... good point invetor of the telephone. I think we can easily get lost in feeling sorry for ourselves and not get back up. Its like the monkey in the Lion King says, we while its in the past we must learn from our mistakes.
"Get up. Get on d. Play hard, and earn your opportunity for another try."
-Justin Bland
Ohhhhh, Bland throws down. Regret reminds us of what not to do. If I lived life with no regrets I would easily forget what I've really messed up on. Its not just about frisbee but life. I've made a few "bad passes" in life, passes that I won't mess up again. Passes that I've done some redonkulous things to avoid doing again.
Paul "Random Post" Murphy
If you can try tell help Josh out with a top ten things to say to RGitL
posted by Paul Murphy at
4:43 PM
2 Comments:
Hey, baby... me!
By
Anonymous, at 10/12/2006 10:31 PM
thanks for the shout out. I completely agree with your thoughts. I have also found it exceptionally, no, impossible to live without regrets...that means you have done it perfect every time, besides that being impossible we cant learn like that. Learning is done through experience. you can tell your kids a thousand times "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" but until they put the lesson with an experience of running into a brick wall they will never understand that. Just like Ted said (to his other self) in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: "Yo, Ted, remember to set your watch!" And, of course, he didnt set his watch back so they almost didnt make it again to their concert/report. He had to learn though experience and not being TOLD what he should learn. Huge props to anyone who actually remembers that. Good thoughts Paul, well done, its refreshing to hear that.
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Anonymous, at 10/13/2006 8:37 AM
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