Last night, we were up against a very good team -- their 4 players were giving our full 6-member team a run for our money. Every time I tried to serve the ball over the net, I kept thinking about how serving used to be the one thing I could do reliably well, and I kept desperately hoping that I would be able to get the ball over the net, all the while worrying that that I would fail. My serves sucked; I got only one over the net, and the rest feebly luffed to the side or moped up to the net and slid down in defeat. Similarly, when I got the ball during play, I would try to hit the ball, somehow, hoping only that I wouldn't screw things up too much. In short, I wasn't having that much fun even though it was a good game and we were winning. Just like last season.
Then, in the third game, something shifted. I realized I was actively enjoying watching everyone play well (including the other team). And I stopped trying to play volleyball. I just remembered what it was like to serve the ball properly - and did it. Again and again. I started putting myself in the right place, at the right angle, and just began to play volleyball. I remembered why I loved this game so much in high school. It's just fun.
As Dr. T used to say, There's a sermon in there somewhere.
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