Undoubtedly, you have heard about the horrific plane crash in Washington, D.C. that took the lives of 28 ice skaters. Tragedy is not new to the skating world, as the entire U.S. Figure Skating team and coaches died in 1961 in another crash in Brussels on their way to the World Championships in Czechoslovakia.
It reminded my friend of a story from 1960, about a 15-year-old U.S. figure skater who was a “sure thing” to make the Olympic squad. However, during the tryouts, nerves got to her and the skater fell three times, failing to make the team. Consequently, she was not on the plane that crashed…but went on to marry and have 11 children. Although she was undoubtedly devastated by missing out on the Olympics, she had a different, but robust and presumably happy life.
My friend thinks of this story a lot when things don’t go according to what she had planned. “I’m the girl who didn’t make the ice skating team,” she tells herself when her life throws her a curve ball or something goes awry.
If you can get over the disappointment from unmet expectations, you can become open to the possibility that something different, but good, can come from the alternate situation. Embrace the life that comes after you don’t make the team.
Thanks, Joan!
