Coping with not being at …

Ever tried to deal with not being able to fulfill a dream? Certainly you have, and so does most people. Sometimes major obstacles come in the way and demolish your last hopes of reaching a goal you held on tight for a while. For me, it was the recent Freestyle Worlds. It wouldn’t have been my first, and certainly won’t be my last. Regardless, the point is; an unpredictable obstacle came in my way a few months before the planned departure and I suddenly had to face the hard truth; not being part of it. I went through several stages of ‘not feeling well’ or finding myself new excuses for why I ‘shouldn’t have gone anyways’, lying to myself and missing all motivation to be… until I decided that that was the wimpiest way of facing a challenge and I finally had to admit that I had to take myself seriously together again. So I came up with this plan that I shared with friends from day to day on Facebook and that I am reposting here. May obstacles come in the way of a new dream, I will certainly consider doing the same again. Read on to see how I did.

Trying to cope with not being at worlds this week? Me too. So I decided to grab the bull by the horns and challenge myself to do something freestyle-ish or plain fun, and ideally exhausting, everyday starting today and until next Saturday. You in? Post your own daily challenges, tag me in or share the idea with anyone in need of a major distraction.

Coping with not being at worlds, day 1:
Throwing 360s and front loops with a kite. Sick session, big air and millions attempts at tricks I haven’t done in a while. Success!
(Sorry no video this time; my new expensive phone does not like minus degrees!)

Coping with not being at worlds, day 2:
Jibbing with these two monkeys. Not so good at railing, but I can off pist pretty damn well. Happy!
PS. To my surprise (or not!), I have a finger I can’t move from yesterday’s kite session and my lower back’s screaming.

Coping with not being at worlds, day 3:
Worth mentioning that I celebrated the opening ceremony of yesterday in bed watching a cheesy romantic movie, alone, at a shameful early hour; felt something coming…
…woke up this morning to the sensation of a knife traversing my lower spine. It took me ’till 8pm to get myself together and walk the 1k loop of the hood, that turned into 3 rounds by pure stubbornness. Won’t break now.
Today would have been prelims in squirt, so I tried to replicate feeling trapped in an uncomfortable space too small for my legs (followed by ‘Eirik, help, my back!’), and dedicate the last picture to my friends who squirted today.

Coping with not being at worlds, day 4:
Contemplating winter wonderland. Never too much snow, they say!!

Coping with not being at worlds, day 5:
Normally coaching these crazy kids gymnastics, but today I got to watch; my back is still striking. Watching them develop and gain confidence, is also winning.

Coping with not being at worlds, day 6:
Digging out old memories of last worlds for the feel-good factor, otherwise following doctors order. Quiet day in all.

Coping with not being at worlds, day 7:
When you can’t play (still back pain, but better) make sure all your toys are really to go for when you are.

This week’s conclusion: spoiler alert, I survived, but barely. Too much frustration for not living a dream that I managed to injure myself right at the start. Next time, I will make sure to follow my heart, and not get discouraged on the path leading to it. It certainly didn’t help anything feeling sorry for myself. On a positive note, the daily challenge forced me to do something that brings me joy every day; so important when dealing with tough moments.

Huge congrats to all my friends who competed at worlds!