Even Sucking at Something Is an Achievement

An unconventional annual review

It was last Saturday that I had a life-changing epiphany. That is, if I believed in life-changing epiphanies.

I was watching two guys facing each other, one dagger in each hand. One guy attacked.

His dagger swiftly moved through the air. When it got deflected, the other dagger immediately followed, aiming straight for the other person…

That’s when I was thinking to myself: “Huh, that actually looks impressive.”

I realize that that probably makes my life sound a lot more interesting than it is so I should probably offer some context. I live in an American suburb. I’ve been married for the better part of a decade… to the same person. I work from home which means I essentially live in lounge wear.

And sometimes, I go to Martial Arts (in lounge wear) where I spend a lot of time being aware of the various ways in which I suck at punching or kicking or, well, using daggers. Unless you study Martial Arts (or maybe even if you study with a trainer who is less into constructive criticism than mine), you might not be aware of how many things you do wrong, I mean, sub-optimally, while practicing something as seemingly simple as throwing a jab.