133: At Least Try

When I played sports competitively, I once watched a pass go by me without trying because I thought I couldn't make a play on it. A teammate asked why I just watched.

I said, "Because I couldn't reach it."

He said, "At least try!"

Larry Bird said something similar: "It makes me sick when I see a guy just watching it go out of bounds."

The view has stuck with me. I haven't gone for every pass I could, but I respect when an outfielder sprints to the wall even when he know the ball will carry over the fence. The difference between watching and trying is meaning and purpose. I try for as many passes as I can.

The pervasive environmental view, "If I act but no one else does then what I do doesn't matter," and the passive behavior it leads to, embodies a meaningless existence.

I try in part today because I tried then. Today's post explores this view and several related ones in more depth.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.