In his Brownlow Medal acceptance speech on Monday night, Chris Judd described football as “make believe”. In some respects I can relate to what Judd was talking about.
When I go away on Judo trips for training and competition, I like to forget about the world and stresses that I have left behind and just focus on my sporting performance, learning and improving in judo. It is almost like being on a different planet. This is particularly the case when access to the internet and the outside world is limited. My family and I affectionately call it my “Judo bubble”.
The flip side of being in the “Judo bubble” is that when I eventually hit Australian soil again, I am firmly brought back to reality – rent and bills to pay, university assignments and exams to study for. It is a constant struggle trying to balance these competing areas of my life – judo, university and work (not to mention seeing my family and friends!). Time management, organization and decision-making are crucial. For example, imagine that you need to prepare for university exams worth 100% of your overall mark, a really important competition that you need to prepare for, and you need to work in order to pay the bills. This is a common situation faced by many amateur athletes I am sure. Sometimes it is just impossible to fit everything in and priorities are brought into question.
Ideally I would love to put all my efforts into training and competing in judo, without any other distractions, to see how good I could be. Ultimately, however, I do believe that in the long-term there are more benefits in taking a multi-faceted approach to life and being a well-rounded person. It is a more challenging path, but it is also a more rewarding one.
It is important to have perspective and I think this is what Judd was talking about.
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