Skip to main content

Jack of all trades, master of none

 


“Sometimes we strive so hard for perfection that we forget that imperfection is happiness.”

At a very young age, my parents signed me up for ice skating. They invested lots of money over the years, on skates, outfits, coaches, private lessons, and competitions, and I of course invested lots of time into improving my skills. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, you could find me at the ice rink most days, trying to prepare for my next test, competition or show. Now, I was a decent skater, but realistically, I wasn’t on a path to the Olympics.

Once I went off to university, some difficult choices needed to be made, and for some reason, I decided to quit skating and invest more time in my education and career, as well as playing soccer during the summers. For several years after college, soccer became my main sport. Especially when I first moved to Dubai; I played indoor, outdoor, 7 aside, 11 aside, womens leagues and mixed leagues. Some weeks, I was playing 6 consecutive nights, and as one can imagine, seeing as I was playing so much, of course, I improved alot. But, once again, I wasn’t in any position to be aiming for the World Cup.

Towards the end of my first stint in Dubai and throughout my first year living in Vietnam, I suddenly became interested in long distance running. It all started with the goal of running a marathon on one New Years Eve, which then of course turned into running multiple types of races in various destinations. My long legs were good for running, and with consistent training, I saw lots of improvement with my times, but, I knew that I was never going to be winning a marathon.

While living in Vietnam, I eventually developed a great passion for CrossFit. I enjoyed the challenge of learning new skills and even more, I absolutely loved feeling strong. Just like with anything else we take on, in the beginning I saw alot of rapid progress, which was motivating, but eventually hitting PBs became more and more difficult. Additionally, after returning to Dubai, I quickly became aware of the fact that competing in South East Asia was quite different than competing in and around the UAE; the level of athletes I am surrounded by here is at a whole other level.

In addition to ice skating, soccer, running and CrossFit, I have enjoyed trying a large variety of other sports and activities, such as dancing and wakeboarding. Admittedly, I am athletically inclined, but I have never been anywhere close to competing at the highest levels with anything I have taken on. 

 

For a long time, my perfectionism and my competitive nature made me believe that I was just not good enough, however, I know deep down that to be “the best” at something, it often requires you to make many sacrifices. For some, making the sacrifces is worth it, and to others, like me, it’s just not. 

Many quotes floating out on the web will make you think that being average is somewhat of an issue and that we should always be striving to be outstanding; but why? What does average even mean? What does outstanding even look like? Surely, only a selective few can make it to the top and be outstanding…does that mean the rest of us are average? 

I’ll likely never make it to the Olympics, the World Cup or the CrossFit Games, as an athlete that is, but that’s absolutely ok. I am much happier doing lots of different things ‘imperfectly’, and I am proud of the effort I put into anyhing and everything I try.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Living Outside The Box

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I believe I’m on the path I’m meant to be." As we get older, it’s easy to get trapped in society’s idea of what life "should" look like. By the time we hit 40, there’s a well-defined picture of success: owning a home, starting a family, climbing the career ladder. But as I approach this milestone, I’m choosing to remind myself that true happiness isn’t found in checking off someone else’s list. It’s found in stepping outside the box, embracing the unexpected, and allowing life to unfold in its own unique way. Sure, my path hasn’t always been conventional, and I’ve often found myself comparing my journey to others, wondering why I’m not where they are. But when I take a step back and reflect, I see how much I’ve gained by stepping off the well-worn road. Life may not have gone according to plan, but I’m proud of the unexpected milestones I’ve reached along the way. I’ve traveled to over 40 countries, lived in three (ye...

Mirror, Mirror

  “I could try to be just like you, but I wanna be like me - the girl in the mirror.” Have you ever looked at a picture of yourself and thought “YIKES!”? Of course you have! We all have! We can all get a little self-critical from time to time, can’t we? I’ll be honest, I don’t often love seeing pictures of myself, especially those really close up, like selfies. Every image seems to amplify my insecurities and highlight “ flaws ” that I wish would disappear. I’m a pretty simple girl—no make-up, no heels, just me as I am, and I find that the world often holds up a different standard of beauty for females, one that's heavily curated and polished. My negative thoughts can weigh heavily at times, and social media ( with all its’ filters ) only magnifies those feelings of self-doubt. Over the last year, I’ve taken a number of selfies or mirror pictures. Some were taken to capture moments during my solo trips, some were taken to track physical changes influenced by diet, training and r...

The runner in me

“Mind over miles.” A few years back, I was all in. I was that person signing up for every race that came across my radar—10K’s, half-marathons, marathons—you name it. The thrill of crossing the finish line, the camaraderie at the starting line, the way the crowds cheered you on, it was all so energizing. I didn’t even need music to get through a run, even a whole 42km marathon, which, I know, sounds crazy to most people. But there I was, in my zone, taking it all in and doing something I enjoyed. I collected lots of medals and racked up plenty of podium finishes, but most importantly I had some memorable international races, and met tons of amazing people along the way. I discovered that running was a really accessible sport; all you needed was a pair of shoes and the will to go. I could literally show up to a race, put one foot in front of the other, and—boom—be part of a community of people all working toward the same goal. So, what happened? Why did I stop running? For me, it came d...