“Buck Up, Buttercup.”
My first taekwondo coach said this to me in one of the MILLIONS of slips of paper he would give us our feedback on. He would put all improvements or praises on these small slips of paper and stick them in envelops. After our staff meetings, he would give us our envelops and we would go on our way.
After a particularly grueling loss at a qualifying tournament, I apologized to my coach for letting him down and not following through with his instructions during the match.
He didn’t say much, but when I got my envelop that Monday...
All it said was “buck up buttercup. Move on. Move forward.”
That was easily 6 years ago at this point. But as I sit here wallowing in my lost job (that I hated), my busted leg, and my impending legal battles....those words came SCREAMING into my ears.
I hate to lose. And holy fuck, I have been losing a lot lately.
But this is the path I know I am supposed to be on. I exist to teach martial arts. I exist to bring that passion into the lives of anyone who will listen to me for more that 10 seconds.
This ACL surgery is Tuesday. I’ll be back.