Head Space

Sometimes I wish I could understand my own brain. I played rugby on Sunday with the team but for some reason it all seemed to go wrong.

I am fully aware that I was not in the right head space to play on Sunday. I was afraid to play.

Why were you afraid? What were you scared off? As we know, rugby is a contact sport, people can get hurt and occasionally people die as a result of their injuries. Since I began playing I have heard the stories of two people who have died following an injury on the pitch. Both of these players played at 11. The position I have played for the majority of my matches.

Both of those players were younger than I am. One of those players was a 20 year old woman. As a sign of respect we held a 1 minute applause at the beginning of Sundays match. No problem at all with that.

When there is a tragedy you cannot help but question your own mortality. This, in turn fills you with self doubt. Well, that’s what seems to happen with my brain anyway.

So I was afraid on Sunday. I wasn’t playing at 11, I started at 14 so that was a relief. I am a rather superstitious old biddy.

When I left school I was given a book to read called “Eat that Frog”. If you haven’t read it then I recommend you do. The basic premise is of there is something you do not want to do but need to do then deal with that first and get it out of the way. It’s a good philosophy. For example, I am not a fan of sprouts, I say sprouts but what I mean is vegetables in general. However, on Christmas Day I always have a couple on my plate so I eat them first. That way the nice things on the plate get rid of the taste.

Follow it up with desert and the taste of the horrible thing is long gone.