The Mamba Mentality

To attempt to reach above and beyond expectations no matter the circumstance. — Urban Dictionary

You don’t know if you don’t really know me, but since I grew up I always had a sports mentality, as I played sports from age 6. First tennis gave me the inspiration to become the next Steffi Graf. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to my parent's divorce. My biological father decided to stop tennis for me at age 10 due to a money issue.

From age 12, I stepped into Volleyball. Being not that tall as a kid — yep stopped growing at 1.64 cm, Volleyball is not the easiest or most intelligent thing to pursue. But hey, the moment I laid my hands on the ball at the mini’s introduction training and the trainer saw me playing, he immediately made me skip the mini’s and put me in C1 team, being the youngest and less experienced.

Most girls were two heads bigger than me. They even didn't have to jump to reach the top of the net. But you know what, I never saw my restraints, I only saw the fun and the love for the game. And during the process of training my winning vessels grew. Oh boy, winning. Already super competitive at a young age and while looking back at it: I needed the sport. And I needed to win. Just for the sake of winning.

At a young age having your darkest moments of life and needing to swim upstream due to circumstances in life was tough, but looking backward - those were actually my best moments. Those moments made me set the bar very high for myself, strong and ambitious enough to play the game, to jump higher than the tall girls who never had a need to try hard, I was hungry to learn and to get the most out of the team and myself. I used all my emotions in my sport and that helped me stay on the right track as a young adult.

I really wanted to become the best in my sport. I lived for it. Nothing else was important, not even school. I slacked a lot at school, but I worked hard to become the best team player at the best position: Left front.

The Attack Zone.

Although only the tall girls get that position. I made sure I was the strongest, the best. I would not accept any position less than that. And it worked. I had so much power and that was the only position to smash it out of my body into the playing game.

The Box

“Dance beautifully in the box that you are comfortable dancing in. — Kobe Bryant

Kobe explains that: ‘everyone's box is different, but that doesn't mean that your box isn't as beautiful as mine.’ Actually, I believe the box doesn't exist. That is how we as humans like to put things into boxes. I love to look at things in a more open manner: to see things as they are. Volleybal is volleybal. Corporate is corporate. Snow is snow.

See it as a pursuit you’re on too. And then just make it work. And if it doesn't work anymore. Change it. Change direction, change your mindset, change your attitude.

And If you find yourself in a box or you want to call it a box. Congrats. Make the best out of it. Dress it up. Write on it. Put some paint on it. Making it the way you envision is the best to be comfortable in it. And invite others to get inspired by your world. And if you’re done. Be grateful for that box, that experience, that it brought or taught you something. No matter good or bad.

The Learning

What I have learned is to see obstacles as they are. Not as a road blocker, but as a challenge to beat it. Not tall? Gotta work harder to jump! No experience or the right degree? Need to become book & street smart. Hate running but wanna do an obstacle course race? See it as it is: it is not more than 1K between the obstacles. Probably just even half of it. That I can do on willpower alone. Not even a running skill is needed for that. Can’t beat an obstacle. Try to surpass it when no one is watching :) Be a bit rebellious.

Life is learning. You just need to tap into your creative fluids to get the most out of it. What could you do differently today than yesterday to live up to your potential? There is always a possibility. To see things from different perspectives. To make a change.

Time is limited. Don’t waste it living someone else his life.

The Teaching

I love this sentence from Kobe Bryant in one of the videos I saw on Youtube. “How you inspire others to find themselves: that is the ultimate championship” and yes, probably this is the true virtue in life that we are on.

On this platform, multiple collective tribes find each other sharing common grounds, fresh perspectives, and even funny stories. All for the passion of writing, sharing, and true creativity. Hoping that we inspire some hearts and minds along the way.

We share stories to show others to look internally and in the end to make sure we all find more creativity in navigating towards the sense of Self. To develop ourselves. To become a better human being. No matter the pursuit that we are on.

“If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will do it for you” — Kobe Bryant

So yes, chase your greatness. No matter what. Keep on trying. Keep going. Fall seven times, get up eight. And I know that by heart.