Expectation Vs. Reality

Last night I watched a really interesting video where several sets of people were shown attempting various feats. They were doing things like skateboarding at super speeds down a mountain road, performing flips onto certain objects, water skiing while holding someone on their shoulders, those types of activities.

The first video would show the "expert", (or someone that I suspect had been practicing for a long time) doing it the correct way. The second video showed some greenhorn doing and wiping out. LOL While the first video was enough to make you gasp at the beauty and astonish you at how human beings can do some of the things they do, the second one was clearly there to make you laugh. I have to admit I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time.

It got me thinking about expectations vs. reality.

After the first couple of videos, you catch on and expect the person attempting the feat will conquer his quest and come out the victor. In the second video, you pretty much know what's going to happen. The participant is going to fall in some way and cause laughter all around. But each of those who attempted it hoped they would get it right. Therein lies expectation. Sadly, they didn't and therein lies reality. LOL

Though the outcome in each video was different between the first group of people and the second, they all have one thing in common. They all started out with the same thought. They were going to attempt something they wanted to do.

Now, those in the first videos were clearly good at what they were doing. They made it look so easy that I wanted to get up and try it myself, lol. But I have a feeling that they started out the same exact way as each of the ones in the second videos. They had their falls, spills, ill-timed jumps and tumbles as well as those that wiped out on camera. They were the lucky ones though, their mistakes didn't get captured on film for the world to see, only their outstanding performances.

But the second group, well, not so lucky. They are the shining examples of how NOT to go about something. LOL

That's how life is, really. You have those who are excelling in what they do, making it look so easy and grand. And then you have those who seem to be failing every time they go out to attempt something new.

You may have someone around you that you work with, are related to, or that you just know that makes life look so easy and it seems each thing they do is blessed by the hand of God himself. And you may try your hand at something and fall on your face and feel that your attempts are all in vain and you made the wrong decision to try something new and different.

Believe me, nothing could be further from the truth. Do you know how those people got to the point of perfection? They practiced over and over and over. And one day, when they had it "down pat", as they say, their feat was captured on film for the world to see how great they are at what they do. I'm sure at home somewhere they have a shoebox full of old tapes of their falls and missteps. LOL

We all have stories of times in life when expectations met reality.

It may have been when you got married as a young woman and you expected this fairy tale life, when what you suddenly got a dose of reality, with bills, a house to be cleaned, kids that scream and the like. LOL

Here's an example in my life. When I was growing up we had an in-ground swimming pool. I loved it. Each day in the summer, I swam from early morning until late at night. My favorite thing was diving. I wanted nothing more than to do what I saw on the Olympics. My favorite dive they did was the back flip and I wished I could do it.

One day, I stopped wishing and I made up my mind that I was going to do it as well. I got on the diving board, slowly turned around and stood there waiting for my body to do what the professionals did. Only, it didn't. I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't have the nerve to move. LOL I was afraid that if I jumped, I would do a back flop and get the breath knocked out of me (for any of you that's ever hit the water the wrong way, you know it hurts).

So I got down from the board, feeling defeated and thinking I'd never be like those who did what I wanted to do. I sat down on one of the chairs and sulked. I wondered what I could do or how I could get my nerve up to attempt a back flip from the diving board. As I sat there, I could picture myself in my mind, slowly bouncing on the board, leaving it as I sprang into the air, keeping my toes pointed and legs straight, just like the athletes I wanted to emulate. But there was something standing in my way: fear.

The next few minutes after that determined my future in diving (no, I didn't go on to become an Olympic competitor, but I did master the back flip and other dives as well).

I looked around the pool and saw that I could start out small by practicing from the edge into the deep end. I knew that it was possible to do that without getting hurt too badly if I didn't complete the full dive. So I got up, turned around and attempted the feat. It was sloppy, but I did it! I'm sure that it looked terrible, but I didn't care, I did it!! I was so happy, so I swam to the ladder, climbed out and did it again. This was to be my new thing for the next couple of months that our pool was open before summer came to an end and let me tell you by the time September rolled around, I had not only mastered the dive from the side, but I had built enough confidence to get up on the board and do it from there.

Needless to say, everyone that came to swim had to see my diving skills and I expected applause, lol. I'd like to add a big thank you to my little sister, who endured endless hours of me begging her to "watch and see if my toes are pointed". I would make her give me a 1-10 just like on the Olympics. LOL

Although my career as a competitive diver never manifested, I didn't quit because I knew what I wanted and felt secure that with hours and hours of practice, I'd finally achieve it.

At first, I'm sure I looked like the people in the second set of videos, flailing about, trying to get it done right. But I didn't care, I was dead set on accomplishing what I set out to do.

You can do the same too. If you have something you've always wanted to achieve, don't let the fear of failure or falling scare you away from it. Get out there, try it. The first time you might fall, but my advice is to start small like I did, from the side. I don't know anyone who had an idea and just went and did it on the first try. They call that beginner's luck and I bet the second time they attempted it, they failed. You have to work at whatever you do. There is trial and error, finding out your strengths and weaknesses, where you need to improve. It's all part of everything we do.

Nike has a tag line, Just Do It! I agree. Just do it. You will fall, but you'll get back up and do it again if you want it bad enough. I believe in you, you need to believe in yourself.

Don't let the fear of falling or failing cause you to miss your chance at greatness. Go out and attempt whatever it is you want to do in life. Take the bull by the horns and go at it full steam. Because I guarantee you, if those who are now experts quit after each mistake, we would NOT have the jaw-dropping performances that I watched last night.

Just remember that there are expectations and there then there is reality. We all expect to succeed on the first try, but in reality, it's all a learning experience. So don't quit because reality slaps you in the face. Picture your expectations and go. Picture the end result and you'll get there eventually.

Remember to work hard and Dream Big!!

Much love,

Christy