Is the view worth the climb?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"article":"It was a tale of two cities in the Fernandes household this week.\u00a0 While I had a rather successful weekend competing in the Chewjitsu tournament, standing on the top of a podium for the first time in over 2 years, my wife lost her bid for re-election to Walled Lake city council earlier in the week.\u00a0 It got me thinking about all the work that goes into chasing dreams and whether it is worth it.\u00a0 You might be surprised by my thoughts on this.\r\n\r\nWe were very dismayed when my wife and 3 other incumbents lost their re-election bid to 4 people that lied every step of the way, one of which will now be mayor and yet has never even attended a city council meeting.\u00a0 My wife knocked on over 1500 doors over the span of a month leading up to the election, was out placing signs all over the city, and was touting her record as part of the city council that helped get our Walled Lake out of debt, and yet, it was not enough.\u00a0 I too, have put an immense amount of effort into my own goals, especially when it comes to competing at Masters Worlds.\u00a0 I too, have also suffered from some cruel defeats.\u00a0 But one year, in particular, stands out.\r\n\r\nI think it was 2020, and Gi Worlds landed on the end of the week where my wife's side of the family planned a Lake Cumberland houseboat trip.\u00a0 My bracket was pre-scheduled for either Friday or Saturday.\u00a0 If it was Friday, I would miss it.\u00a0 If it was Saturday, I could catch a plane and make it.\u00a0 The brackets weren't released until the Monday before when we would already be in Kentucky.\u00a0 As it turned out, my bracket competed on Saturday and I was able to make it.\u00a0 Then it hit me..... I never did put the time in preparing for the tournament because, in a rather stupid way of thinking, I didn't want to \"waste\" the effort if I wasn't able to compete.\u00a0 It's hard to believe that at any pont in my life I thought like that, but I consciously did think that.\u00a0 Honestly, it was an incredibly stupid way of thinking.\r\n\r\nWhat did I think I was wasting?\u00a0 Had I trained hard for weeks, pushing myself more than normal, making more progress than normal, why in God's name would I think that would be a waste?\u00a0 Even if I was not able to compete, all that work would have contributed to so many physical benefits.\u00a0 But now that I was going to compete, I did not have the physical and mental edge I really needed to win.\u00a0 It ended in my most heartbreaking loss in the finals, and I was once again left to wonder what it would be like to stand on top of that IBJJF podium.\u00a0 In my wife's case, was her effort wasted?\u00a0 No, I don't think so at all.\u00a0 You have to put that effort in to win anything, and she got to know even more people in our community.\u00a0 But let's look at the other side of the coin.\r\n\r\nMy daughter did gymnastics so we paid attention to Olympic gymnasts.\u00a0 I look at the years and years these kids have to dedicate their entire lives to this sport if they want to even have a chance at the Olympics, and then only 6 girls will make it every 4 years.\u00a0 I wonder about the girls that are in the 10th to 20th ranking, realizing they will never make the team.\u00a0 Sure, they will have good college careers, but is it worth it?\u00a0 Those kids do not have normal childhoods.\u00a0 Their entire lives are dedicated to one goal, of which is almost impossible to achieve, even though SOMEONE will get there.\u00a0 My daughter opted to not go the Junior Olympic route (which almost forces kids to be homeschooled to be able to train that much).\u00a0 She opted to have a more normal childhood and spend more time with her friends.\u00a0 While she never acheived her full potential, it was definitely the right choice for her.\r\n\r\nWe all see people that are chasing their dreams while ignoring their families, their health, their faith, or a whole other list of priorities.\u00a0 I'm not going to lie.\u00a0 I've been riding that razor's edge for 10 years, but our family has made it work.\u00a0 Before you jump into any activity, you really need to think about whether the expected climb is really going to be worth the hoped for outcome.\u00a0 Often times, I think you are going to find certain goals are NOT worth the effort.\u00a0 This is not to say you will never have to place your family or your health second for some other priority, but if those things are ALWAYS playing second fiddle, maybe you've lost sight of what is important.\r\n\r\nI will always encourage people to chase their dreams.\u00a0 Just make sure you bring those that love you with you instead of leaving them behind.","featured_image":"","featured_image_id":"","featured_article":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-257","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n