This I Believe

“I believe in not overdoing it”

I remember watching an episode of Fear Factor. A man was asked to stick his head in a tank of blood for money. I thought he would have backed down because although there are disturbing tasks featured on this show, I never thought somebody would actually go this far. He actually stuck his head in the tank! I kept telling my self, “He’s gone too far, he’s gone too far.”

Sure it’s good to give life your all when involved in sports, academics and some other things. But how much is “all?” I believe in not over doing it. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely believe in giving something 110% when called for, but when it comes down to effecting your health (physical or mental) there is a limit.

As I mentioned, if you were playing a sport such as soccer, and you came off the field and knew you gave it your all you would feel great. Even if you sprained an ankle, you would still feel a sort of satisfaction. However, if you came off the soccer field in a coma, you would have no feeling of relief. Sure you tried hard, but your physical well being is now destroyed (for now). In a similar personal experience a few years back, my club soccer team and I were playing a game in a tournament. I came off of the field the first half dripping in sweat, and sprained one of my ankles. I felt great, despite my ankle. I tried my hardest and it paid off. Then came the second half of the game, and my ankle was still hurting. I still managed to attempt to play the second half. About ten minutes into the game we had a drop kick, at which then I attempted with my injured ankle. It didn’t turn out so well. I realized that even if I tried to go above my limits, the consequences would exceed my accomplishments in the long run.

In another example, if you have a midterm or some sort of significant test to get prepared for, I believe in taking the time to study over your notes and know them thoroughly. Although you should do your best at your school work, again I believe in not over doing it. If you get somewhat aggravated by the test coming up, that is understandable. I think it is completely ridiculous to get to a point that you are so stressed out that you are taking your frustrations out on people. In junior high I was pressured by teachers to do extremely well on our final exam for biology. Since I wasn’t any good at that subject, it made matters worse. I would snap at family and friends over the silliest things due to my stress.

With this, I made my own decision in life to not necessarily settle for less then what I know I can achieve, but to know the difference from going overboard, and not doing so. In life, you have to take certain things to a certain serious extent, and know when to draw the line. My past experiences have taught me to know the difference, and now I know to not over do things.