Sienna Grinwald-Alves

Dr. McCarther

Inner Game Reflection

9 March 2020

I am going to pick one quote that was previously discussed in the last writing assignment.
“The surfer does want to ride the wave to the beach, yet he waits in the ocean for the biggest
wave to come along that he thinks he can handle. If he wanted to be “in the flow,” he could do
that on a medium-size wave...The surfer waits for the big wave because he values the challenge
it presents. He values the obstacles the wave puts between him and his goal riding the wave to
the beach” (Caroll 120). This quote means a lot to me because of its sense of competition. I grew
up in dance, voice, and acting competitions and I always saw them as debates and battles against
others, when truly it was just to show myself the ability I have to strive. It was a mind game of
just knowing what I have to do to be better than what I am, not better than those around me.
This part of the book talks about the purpose of winning. How competition should be set
to show your potential, not to compare yourself to those who do it better or worse than you.
Constantly wanting to just better yourself. Valuing the obstacles that help you figure out where
you want to go and the person you want to be. In my case, that would be to look at myself as a
performer. I know that Sutton Foster is better than me in some aspects, and I know that some
people haven’t had the experiences I have. Whether that be true or not, I don’t or shouldn’t care.
In competition I should/will focus on the competitiveness of bettering myself. To truly see my
full and honest potential. “‘Winning is overcoming obstacles to reach a goal, but the value in
winning is only as great as the value of the goal reached’” (Caroll 120).
This thought has really set me to figure out how I can and will apply it to my classes. For
my piano class. I have mentioned that I struggle with seeing myself at the end goal of just “doing
it”, just visualizing myself getting to the end with no mess ups. So to apply this thought of
competing with my potential, I will challenge myself to get better each time I play. To challenge
myself to practice ten more minutes on top of what I am already doing. Challenge myself to stop
focusing on the parts I feel like I am about to mess up on. And just simply go with the flow of
the music. It is often that I like to sit in this thinking of “well this person is better than me. How
can I be like that person? Does that person practice longer? Do they have parents who play
music? Is piano their main instrument and then they wanted to start singing? Why do they pick it
up much much faster than I can?” When I think like that I am subconsciously putting myself
down and tearing away any possibility of actually getting it right. I just wasted a good ten
minutes thinking about all the reasons why I couldn't, instead of challenging myself to think
otherwise and just do it.