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It's never to late to learn! Well, I have gone through a really rough time these last couple weeks here in Italy. This season I have put maximum effort into becoming a better “team” player, after putting so much time into an individual sport. It has always been difficult making the transition from an individual to a team sport and back again. It’s never easy to continually make the mental change from introversion to extroversion. I know this is one of my weak points as an athlete. The idea of an individual sport is so much simpler – it’s such a cut and dry concept. Team sports are so much more delicate, especially amongst women. The idea to control the personalities and emotions of 12 women on one team is next to impossible, I think. Until now things have gone smoothly with my team here in Jesi. Unfortunately, my thought process doesn’t exactly agree with some of the other players. I tend to be very blunt as a person/athlete. I have always been the one to tell the truth about how I feel or what I think. As this might be a great quality in a person, it can also be very difficult as a member of a team. I have always struggled with saying, “Well, would you rather me tell you something to your face, or talk behind your back. You choose!” It’s always more comfortable to gather another person (or two) and talk behind someone else’s back, right? No one wants to hit the bottom alone. It’s a little more difficult to tell someone what you are feeling to their face. I feel like I’m walking a tight rope at times, because I believe that if someone has a concern, it definitely has to be addressed. I tend to forget that others may be very sensitive to what I believe is the truth, therefore not accepting what I say with such grace as I would like. Slowly but surely, I am trying to learn when to put that filter on my mouth or, if I am having a problem, just leave it to the coaches and hope that they do their job, which doesn’t always happen. This has always been difficult for me, because I am definitely not one to sit back and wait for something to happen. I am generally the one that goes out and gets what I want – a conflict of interest in this particular case. I have never claimed to be the one with a lot of patience. I will be the first to admit that I lack that quality. It’s a learning process! Anyhow, for the moment I am trying to stay strong and take responsibility for what has happened. I believe that it is always better to take the more mature approach to solving a problem. Problems don’t solve themselves. If I try to put the pieces back together and it doesn’t work, at least I’ve tried. It could be a lesson learned for all of us, because (unfortunately for my sake) the game of life is played out more in teams than as individuals. Until next time... Erin |