Love The Challenge
Bowling is a game of mistakes and unpredictable fortune. If it were not, no one would ever miss the pocket, a spare. On top of that, there would be no sudden transitions to lane play, no unfortunate bad pin carry, no imperfections in lane topography. Every delivery of the ball would go exactly where you wanted it to go, and the winning average in a bowling tournament would be something like 270 or better every time!
If you truly love bowling, you must love the fact that no one averages 270 or better, that bowling is an inherently imperfect game. If you spend your time fighting the fact that bowling is a game of mistakes and trying to make it a game of perfect shots, you’re really saying that you don’t like bowling.
No one has ever perfected bowling – not Earl Anthony, not Walter Ray, not Jason Belmonte. I don’t believe anyone ever will. Bowlers who understand and love the game accept it rather than fight it. They realize the essence of bowling is reacting well to inevitable mistakes and misfortunes. They know they can separate themselves from their competition not by perfecting their games but by constantly striving to improve.
I tell bowlers that if there’s one thing they should always be proud of in their games, it’s how well they react to mistakes. I tell them that they will never have complete control of the bowling ball. But they can control their attitudes and more importantly love the challenge.
No one has ever perfected bowling – not Earl Anthony, not Walter Ray, not Jason Belmonte. I don’t believe anyone ever will. Bowlers who understand and love the game accept it rather than fight it. They realize the essence of bowling is reacting well to inevitable mistakes and misfortunes. They know they can separate themselves from their competition not by perfecting their games but by constantly striving to improve.
I tell bowlers that if there’s one thing they should always be proud of in their games, it’s how well they react to mistakes. I tell them that they will never have complete control of the bowling ball. But they can control their attitudes and more importantly love the challenge.
Love the challenge of the day, whatever it may be to Win the Day!