What outrages you

What outrages you? What are you doing about it? 1000 characters

“I don’t know”, one of the most common phrases which is a limit we place on ourselves. We accept our lack of knowledge and prevent further thought. A limit is defined as “something that bounds or confines”. Nothing drives me crazier than watching this. Accepting a limit creates a comfort zone that does not allow for improvement. Through coaching and tutoring I am able to help others challenge themselves. Coaching, I was introduced to girls who didn’t push their limits. These girls didn’t reach out to teammates and accepted loss. I explained to them, that they always needed to give all their effort. The following game was their only win all season. Tutoring my peers, I hear “I don’t know” at least 10 times a day. I challenge anyone I tutor to go the whole time without saying this phrase. Without this phrase, they think much more about the question, whatever it may be and thus, progress their knowledge. By challenging our limits, we allow for growth and ultimately achieve greatness.

On my school varsity team, we faced a very similar challenge. It was the regional quarter-finals of my senior year, possibly the last match I’d ever play with my team. We were down 21-10 and all hope seemed lost. I went back to serve with the intention of pushing past what I thought were my limits and getting every single ball up. This attitude quickly spread throughout the entire court, to the bench, and all the way through the stands. It seemed as if we were a new team in a new game that had never lost. Like the girls I’d coached, we came back and won that night which allowed our season to continue. One small amount of determination to push past easily accepted limits can completely change the outcome. I have tutored a friend, and the one thing I will not allow him to say is “I can’t do it” because in saying this, you accept your failure at something and are thus unwilling to try until it is achieved.