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Bowling: An alley into the world of sports

I took an intermediate bowling class at BYU in 2007. I was surprised how much focus is required to bowl well. I also learned a lot about life and love.

Every M,W,F I would show up to the downstairs bowling facility after my Gold Standard Ballroom Dance class to bowl. I was tired and didn't want to continue to focus; not after an hour of coordinating my mind, feet and the rest of the muscles in my body. I initially thought bowling was a goof-off class; a break between the more rigorous classes. It is only in hindsight that I can see now that I was quite mistaken.

I think Tom Cruise said it best in one of his all-time classic films, Top Gun: "If you think out there, you're dead." Of course, I am examining this quote in a non-literal light. What I mean by this is that bowling, like every sport, requires concentration 100% of the time. Foreign thoughts can pull me out of the "zone" and I'll blow it. I wonder if that is why bowling is so popular with the inebriated crowd—they drink to dull their minds and focus their minds on one thing to forget about their hard day at work or stressful situations at home.

I was just playing an intramural tournament game of Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday and learned the same lesson. The man I was defending made an insane dash for an "uncatchable" disk thrown far out of his reach. The moment I gave up on covering him was the moment that he laid out and rolled, revealing that he had come up with the Frisbee. He then skillfully threw it in to end-zone for a successful reception. It dawned upon me then, that in any aspect of life, if you pause to rest from pushing yourself and driving towards your dreams, you will get beat.

Upon further reflection, I realized that this word of wisdom not only pertains to sports, but school, work, and relationships. I hope I will always have goals to help me strive for continual improvement, friends and family to help encourage me to stay focused and good opponents to help me train to become the best I can be.

Comments

  1. NoelleMon Nov 12, 06:28:00 AM MST

    Nice insight Bry....I completely agree. I think that goal setting is mucho importante but oftentimes falls to the side as daily life takes over.

    The bowling ball picture looks more like a shot put--I'm assuming that's what you were going for.

    Will you please take off the secret code word?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julie TMon Nov 12, 10:53:00 AM MST

    Love that bowling post! Lots of great thoughts there! Small loss of that touchdown if it brings greater rewards in the big picture of life! Tell you what, I'll try to keep encouraging you guys to stay focused,etc if you keep pushing us to learn new technology and do our missionary work, etc. We are here to help each other.
    Great photos, too! I'd like to see more in Ohio on your laptop. And I agree- you love doing stuff involving the computer. I think that should be an integral part of your career! Can you interview Deven or visit him at the site? Maybe you should intern there, or turn to that friend you helped out on the way down from EFY to get a foot in some studio door?? (I'd still push on Google!!!)

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