It’s a Volleyball Game
I was playing volleyball today and I realized it’s a great metaphor for life. Let me show you why.
You’re responsible for yourself, but you’re also playing for a team.
When the ball comes to you, it’s all on you. You have to make sure you get it right and you send it right. How well your teammate makes his move depends heavily on how well you gave him the ball. What you can do also depends heavily on how your teammate gives you the ball.
Your responsibilities will change.
Sometimes you set, others your serve, and others you spike. Sometimes you’re defense and sometimes you’re offense. Sometimes you’ll lead and sometimes you’ll follow. Sometimes you’ll pay, and sometimes you’ll get paid. Sometimes you’ll hurt, and sometimes you’ll get hurt. It’s part of the game.
You can try new things and fail. There’s always more points to be played.
If you miss a serve, if you spike against the net, it’s not the end of the world. It’s 1–0. There’s still 24 more points that need to be scored. In the end…
You can lose as many points as you want, as long as you win enough points.
Winning 25–0 counts just as much as winning 25–23. The reverse is also true.
You can win as many points as you want, but it won’t matter if you lose enough points.
You can be smart, talented, passionate, well-intentioned, good-looking, charming, and well connected. But if you don’t put in the work, if you don’t close, if you don’t score point 25, then it all makes no difference. Losing 25–23 counts just as much as losing 25–0.
It’s not over until it’s over.
Even if you’re down by 10 points on the match point. The other team managed to score 10 points, so it’s obviously possible. Why can’t you? As long as they haven’t scored point 25, the game is still on.
Sometimes it’s not up to you.
Sometimes the floor was slippery. Sometimes the ref calls it wrong. Sometimes, the ball is literally moving too fast for you to have a chance to react.
Games are won during training.
Winning a Nobel Prize does not happen at the moment of discovery. Winning a Nobel Prize happens during the 15 years of research, studying, and learning that came before it. Millions of dollars don’t come to people’s pocket overnight. Even if the transaction itself happens from one day to the other, the real money was made during the long weekends and the missed holidays. A perfect body is built with every rep. A great relationship is built with every nice gesture. Etc.
It’s about being in the game.
Most of the time, the other team won’t be any more special than yours. They’ll all be persons with two legs, two arms, to eyes, and one brain. Some might be taller and some shorter. They’ll use similar strategies, they’ll play by the same rules, and they’ll all spike, serve and receive like you. What will set you apart is how much you’ve trained, and how much of that training you can bring into the game. A team of 15 year olds can beat the national team if the national team can’t be bothered to move.
You won’t win every point- or every game for that matter.
And it’s OK. You can’t see it all coming. You won’t always be at your best. You won’t always be the best. But time goes on and the next serve will come. And when that is over, another game will come.
You have to learn how to balance
You want to learn as much as possible, you want to try things out. But you also want to win the game. You don’t want to try something new every point. You also don’t want play so safe that you never get better. You have to find a way to learn as much a possible while still winning every game.
Most important though is: