Originally posted by JedMedGrey
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that's really pretty important.
Comparing ourselves to others is just self defeating. At the gym, there are guys moving ungodly amounts of weight. So much weight that the bars are bending. So much noise with that much weight clanging and banging. Very competitive, testosterine loaded individuals. Conversations with them leave you feeling they aren't especially happy. Maybe it's the roid rage.
Think I'd rather be happy than killing myself trying to impress others.
In the kindergarten class last year, we had a kid with dysgraphia. He was also barely old enough to be there. (but free babysititing, so...) And he came from a background where academic learning was just a joke. Anyways, heavily handicapped, couldn't even figure out how to draw a vertical or horizontal line. Couldn't even draw a straight line. He was in shock and overwhelmed and depressed. No fricking way was this kid passing kindergarten. No way.
But he did. A lot of extra exercises. A lot of extra work made pleasant. A lot of hugs and positive reinforcement for little successes. And by the end he could write so we could read it. (No one else would be able to, but we had learned how he made his letters.) And he could read! No one in the class made as much progress as he did.
Of course, by the end of the year, he still was nowhere near the academic level of some of the top kids on their first day. We had a boy, probably a genius, who could have been reading at 5th grade level if he had put in the effort. But he was superior, knew it, and felt put upon at the suggestion there was something he didn't know.
The point is: we were far more proud of the kid who surpassed all expectations. We were proud of the other achievers also.
All of us are different. All of us come to the plate with different resources. What matters most is how we use our own resources to meet challenges we set for ourselves. And the satisfaction that brings us.
I wish more people posted their successes. Those successes are at least as important as those who put up unreal results. Those results and success are what most of the players here can identify with. Those are the successes that the majority of the players here can appreciate-and not be left feeling "I'm no good at this."
This game is good mental exercise. And just like being at the gym, it's good to exercise. Bending the bar and making everyone's eyes pop out really isn't a standard anyone else should use for their own progress.
Being healthy. Being happy.
"Seizing the day" is often best accomplished with delicate hands and appreciative hearts.
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