A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: Challenging One's Self

Here's an interesting thought: Why do some people make things harder on themselves?  Sure, some will say it's for the thrill of the challenge, but it's also possible to go so far that you give up because it becomes too hard.  You may think there's a fine line between the two, only to be surprised at just how much grey area there is between them.

Consider the last time you asked yourself how much more you could take or even simply stated that you couldn't anymore.  Did it continue or stop?  What motivated you one way or the other?  Was that motivation worth it in the end?  Simple questions to ask, much harder to answer, wouldn't you agree?  Perhaps it was a time you told yourself "Never again" only to do it once more without realizing it.

It can also be humbling, thinking on past goals that were never attained for one reason or another.  The challenges within challenges we've set for ourselves over the years.  At what point was that one criteria, that one extra challenge too much?  And yet the progress we had made, perhaps been blind to in some circumstances, meant little if we couldn't answer that challenge.

This one I have personal experience with.  For most of this past year, I had attained a Pokemon Organizer Basic license, which basically allowed me the ability to host officially sanctioned Pokemon tournaments.  Anyone who knows me could tell you that this was a big deal for me, yet for the entire year I had it, I never once used it.  I thought about it, sure, who wouldn't, but no plans ever came to fruition.

It wasn't that I thought I'd be a bad host.  I've helped many people learn the game over the years, whether it be the TCG or the video games, though it may have required a different approach, as I've usually not been one to force people to play the standard format.  No, the thought that bugged me was the hot shot challenger, the eventuality that someone who cares more about winning and losing than I do would come to one of my events, and within the span of one game try to convince everyone that following me could be hindering them.  Because to me, the game has never been about wins or losses, but bringing groups of friends together, occasionally bull-shitting each other along the way.

Sure, it's hard to argue that it'd be nice one day to go to a Pokemon World Championship event just to say I went.  But to actually be able to compete at that level?  I don't think I'm anywhere close to the experience some of those players bring to the table, honestly because I don't think I could bring myself to care so much about the wins and losses.  Every game has a lesson to learn, especially when helping others learn it.  Sometimes it can mean holding of on your combo long enough to gauge someone's true strength and skill.  To help them see their own value.  The hardest skill to master can be how to lose a winning game.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those motivated to read them.