Out of my comfort zone. Onto the ice.

I’ve crossed the final sport off the list of those that might take me to the Olympics. As someone past the typical age of peak performance, all that was left to dream about was curling, a sport where top-tier athletes stay competitive into middle age. I have now confirmed that I will not be delivering stones for Team USA. I have also confirmed how important it is to put yourself in situations where you’re a complete novice once in a while.

In an attempt to find active things to do during the long Chicago winter, my husband and I decided to try curling. We went to a “learn to curl” session, enjoyed it and signed up for the rookie league. I had only the most basic knowledge of the sport. I’d watched maybe two hours on TV. I was a blank slate.

I found myself surrounded by enthusiastic curlers who spoke a completely foreign language, had specialized gear, a command of strategic nuances, and were not only able to see where the stone needed to land to push their team ahead, but were able to deliver with the control required to make that happen. 

Me, I could walk on the ice without falling. Some of the time.

The purpose of the rookie league is to learn, and the more experienced players were happy to teach. I couldn’t even pretend to know what I was doing. I had no experience in anything I’d done before in my life that would help me here. If I wanted to get better, I had to seek coaching, and listen to all the advice that came my way. I fought my ego’s natural tendency to say “I got this, I’ll figure it out on my own” and became a sponge. I looked like an idiot. When people said "can I show you how to..." I said "YES PLEASE" before they even finished. I slipped. I got visibly frustrated. I asked someone to help me work on the basics. We drilled. I got a bit better. I still got very frustrated. I broke down the frustration and saw it was due to being completely out of my comfort zone, and eventually reveled in the opportunity to spend time there.

I realized the openness I had to coaching in this situation had all but vanished from my life, as I have to position myself as experienced if not expert in most situations, and by removing that vulnerability I’d minimized opportunities to grow and improve.

Unfortunately my curling career came to an abrupt end as a previous injury flared up and prohibited me from playing. I will however take the lessons I learned on the sheet (as well as the vocabulary I learned, like “sheet”) with me and try to bring the novice spirit to my daily interactions, even in areas where I’m the seasoned pro.  And I will seek out other areas where I can be a novice. Who knows what I might learn.