I Don’t Do Sports (Until I Did)
What happens when you just try
Months ago, I scribbled down a quote: “Identity is the enemy of achievement.”
This week, the note appeared in a large pile of other notes. Maybe others reading can relate to the piles of paper or screenshots of inspiring quotes.
The meaning was simple: the moment you decide who you are, you limit who you can become. We cling tightly to labels and box ourselves in. Becoming less curious and willing to try.
For me, that truth showed up in pickleball, something my husband and I started playing a few months ago.
I’ve never been good at sports. No competitive streak. Always a little awkward in that world.
I know some people don’t even consider pickleball a sport, as I heard a joke that if you can get good at it over lunch, it doesn’t count. But to me, it’s a sport.
When we started playing pickleball, we were both bad. No rules. Just hitting the ball around. Laughing. Connecting.
Then we started learning the rules. We played real games and kept score.
I lose every time. But I’ve also gotten better.
Our games are longer. I get points on the board. I’ve even had games where I came close to winning. It’s become something we share and a way we spend time that doesn’t revolve around work, stress, or logistics.
If I had stuck to ‘I don’t do sports,’ I would’ve missed this part of my life entirely.
Because sometimes, the story we tell about who we are is the very thing keeping us from who we’re becoming.
Pickleball proved that. Labels don’t just keep us from games; they keep us from whole parts of life waiting to be lived
