Realistic expectations…

I have always been someone – and I know I’m not alone in this – that doesn’t like doing things if I can’t do them well. Not comparing myself to others can be a challenge too. The brother who was closest in age to me is skilled at any sport that uses a ball. I learned early on not to play against him as I am someone who can’t play ball sports at all without making a twit of myself. So, I don’t even go there now as I have learned that no good will come of it.

There are things that I am good at, one of which is writing poetry and I often post them on this blog. I can bake, I’m a pretty good cook and there are a few things that I am not too bad at.

As alluded to in the first paragraph, I have never been very sporty. However, there is one sport that I really enjoy playing and that is bowls. This has been the main motivator for me in my recovery from both my knee surgery and subsequently my back surgery. I have a determination to get back to bowls, but I don’t want to just play I want to be good at it. Prior to my physical issues with my knee and my back, I had not long started playing bowls in my retirement when I had to stop because I was physically unable to play. This situation saddened me as I had just started to make friends and enjoy playing and was developing some skill.

So, last week I went to a coaching day, which was useful, but also for me came with a certain amount of frustration that I was not as good at playing bowls as I would like to be. I have never been the most patient person, but I am usually a realistic person. But, when recovering from any kind of surgery I want to get back into life to the fullest extent, basically yesterday! It is difficult for me when I can’t perform at a level I would like to and would have done previously.

The thing I need to remember is that I have not played for the best part of a year and that will obviously mean that it will take me a while to get back to playing at a reasonable level. Patience is one virtue that is in short supply with me. I know that I am hard on myself and try to give myself encouragement and adjust my expectations, but sometimes that is easier said than done.

I’m going to bowls next week to have another game or two before the next training session, so hopefully I will have improved by the next training.

The only thing I can do is try and try to get in some practice before the season starts.

And learn to be patient…