My son went to basketball practice today for the first time in his life. All week he had been very excited about it. He was counting the days. Asking me every morning how many days were left until the practice meet.
Unfortunately, he didn’t like it. He didn’t enjoy what the coach prepared for them. He doesn’t want to go to practice again.
This incident may end his passion for basketball, the passion he has always shown when we’ve played before. However, I’m going to do my best to make sure this doesn’t happen.
What happened today made me think about the teachers and coaches I’ve had. It’s funny how they influence what we end up preferring later in life. I never connected with my language teacher, so I didn’t have an interest in the matter. Later in life, I’ve been able to enjoy literature, poetry, and even writing. When I was eight, my guitar teacher was not able to transmit to me any passion for the instrument, but now I would love to be able to play the guitar. I think I would have been good at it. But I never tried after those boring classes I had when I was eight years old.
Who would I be if I had had different teachers in my life?
It’s funny to think that if I had gone to a different school, I would be a different person. I’m sure I would have developed different preferences, different skills, different strengths; I would have had a different career.
Who I am right now is just one of the infinite versions of the possible ones.
That makes me feel light.
That helps me to not take myself so seriously. After all, I’m just one of the potential versions of myself. I’m just a product of my circumstances, the people, and experiences I’ve encountered in my life.
This makes me feel playful. Which other version could I be now? Knowing that I am who I am because of the influences that I was not aware of, it feels very possible to be someone different, to explore areas that I never considered before. I’m left with the feeling that I can explore ANY area in life because the potential versions of myself are unlimited.
Now I know why the slogan “Be the best version of yourself” never attracted me.
I don’t want to be the best version. I don’t want to be attached to one version. I want to explore them all. I want to play with all of them. That sounds like more fun.