To be a professional tennis player, or not to be? That is the question… I asked myself when I was 19 years old. (And yes, here comes another hypnotic story.)
Playing tennis helped me to get through a dark, dark time in my life. If tennis was a person, you could call it my conjoined twin.
Back then, if I wasn’t playing tennis, I was reading tennis magazines. Watching tennis on TV. Tennis was a big part of my life, along with creating music. (The music story is for another time.)
For a very brief time, my love for tennis had me consider becoming a professional tennis player. It wasn’t a very serious dream, more of a “what if” type of dream. Being Mr. Logical, I analyzed this dream.
If I became a professional, I would need to travel to all the tournaments, spending my own money. Until I started winning and got sponsors, my travel costs would be a huge expense.
Hmm… I suspected that work travel could become tiring and tedious. A lonely and stressful life, just traveling by myself, often being by myself.
But wait! Playing tennis would be fun, right? Yes, but I also thought, “Hey, at the start, it’s mainly travel, practice, and a tiny amount of playing in tournaments.” The first years would likely be rough.
Then I analyzed myself.
Strengths: I was quick. Strong backhand, drop shot, and volley. Strategy skills were pretty good, but needed some work. Mental skills were strong; I always gave 100% on the court, never giving up no matter what.
Weaknesses: Footwork and serve needed major work. Forehand, overhead, and return of serve needed some work. Lastly, I was a short person compared to other players. In tennis, being tall is a big edge.
Yes, I loved tennis, but when I was in high school, I wasn’t even the top high school player in our region, so I wasn’t going to be good enough to turn pro. Sure, I could work really hard to improve, but in the end, I knew the truth.
My passion for tennis wasn’t enough. My logic told me to go into a career in which I could thrive, something that played to my strengths.
Tennis, you will always be one of the loves of my life. Just one that I couldn’t be with for too long. Okay, maybe my conjoined twin analogy at the start has officially broken down. Ew.
If you read my post from yesterday about analyzing a hypnotic story, I have two questions.
1. How do you interpret this tennis story?
2. What deeper meaning can you glean from it, either for yourself or for a general audience?
Now I’m curious to hear your comments below.
1/2. Reach only for the reachable stars! Still, they are stars!
2/1. It was something you enjoyed, very much, but your talent was not enough to earn you a living, so, you (poddibly) kept it as a hobby, without lamentations, and set your sights on something you could excell at, but also liked/loved (as per your previous writings).
Mercedes, I like your interpretations.
One note to all readers: the story I tell is usually for one person, the client. And I’m using the story to help them with their issue.
When I post a story for a larger audience, many people may interpret a story the same way on a conscious level. But often each reader’s subconscious will process the story in a different way. It’s like an abstract painting; each person’s subconscious interprets it differently and creates its private set of changes.