Freerunnings Lesson for Life Choices
I have sometimes thought about what I've learned from freerunning for my life in general. One of the biggest things it's taught me is how to make decisions with incomplete information and take calculated risks.
When I'm prepping for a new move or run that I've never done before, my mind goes through a certain procedure. First I look at all the objects I'm using and make sure they are strong and safe. Then I go over the maneuver numerous times in my head to make sure I remember every little flinch and timing perfectly. I also take a moment to analyze the state of my body; any lingering injuries, sore muscles, or overall tiredness or lack of focus that may affect my performance. Based upon all that I then have to make the decision whether I'm going to go for it or not. And the thing is, something unforeseen could still go wrong. A brick might come loose, or a hidden shard of metal appear. However because I took the time, I know that the chances of these things is very low. Though if something did happen I trust that I could react instinctively to protect myself. Even though I know there is still a chance of something going wrong, a risk, I also know that I cannot let that possibility scare me into submission. Because I also know that no matter how much time I take to practice, prepare, and analyze I will never be able to completely remove all possibility of risk.
When one reaches that point they have to make a choice about how they will live their life. Are they going to sit around in indecision waiting and waiting for the "final figures" to come in and make the results of their decision a sure thing? Or will they accept that there is some risk and whatever happens, they know that they did their best to prevent it, but in order to live a life worth living, it's necessary to take these risks on occasion.
Where this seems to fall apart for me, is when the risk itself could end my life. The problem here is that if you're dead, you wont have learned anything from the mistake or mess-up! Making the choice to commit to a risky act for the sake of leading a certain kind of life is rendered irrelevant if that life no longer exists.
I've found that this realization has helped me with many other situations in life. For instance making the choice to go on a trip, or the choice to commit my time and effort to one endeavor over another. Life is a big complex mess! So in order to lead a rewarding life, I believe it's essential to master the art of making rational choices based on incomplete information. And freerunning has helped me immensely with this.
When I'm prepping for a new move or run that I've never done before, my mind goes through a certain procedure. First I look at all the objects I'm using and make sure they are strong and safe. Then I go over the maneuver numerous times in my head to make sure I remember every little flinch and timing perfectly. I also take a moment to analyze the state of my body; any lingering injuries, sore muscles, or overall tiredness or lack of focus that may affect my performance. Based upon all that I then have to make the decision whether I'm going to go for it or not. And the thing is, something unforeseen could still go wrong. A brick might come loose, or a hidden shard of metal appear. However because I took the time, I know that the chances of these things is very low. Though if something did happen I trust that I could react instinctively to protect myself. Even though I know there is still a chance of something going wrong, a risk, I also know that I cannot let that possibility scare me into submission. Because I also know that no matter how much time I take to practice, prepare, and analyze I will never be able to completely remove all possibility of risk.
When one reaches that point they have to make a choice about how they will live their life. Are they going to sit around in indecision waiting and waiting for the "final figures" to come in and make the results of their decision a sure thing? Or will they accept that there is some risk and whatever happens, they know that they did their best to prevent it, but in order to live a life worth living, it's necessary to take these risks on occasion.
Where this seems to fall apart for me, is when the risk itself could end my life. The problem here is that if you're dead, you wont have learned anything from the mistake or mess-up! Making the choice to commit to a risky act for the sake of leading a certain kind of life is rendered irrelevant if that life no longer exists.
I've found that this realization has helped me with many other situations in life. For instance making the choice to go on a trip, or the choice to commit my time and effort to one endeavor over another. Life is a big complex mess! So in order to lead a rewarding life, I believe it's essential to master the art of making rational choices based on incomplete information. And freerunning has helped me immensely with this.
posted by Levi M at
5:40 PM
1 Comments:
Great post. "So in order to lead a rewarding life, I believe it's essential to master the art of making rational choices based on incomplete information."
I loved that
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