Why I Play Badminton
Reflection after Denmark trip
For August 23-August 28th 2023, I went to Denmark. Seeing these professional athletes and how beautifully they move on court touched me to my core. “I want to do that”, was my instant reaction. Yet I knew that I would never reach that level.
I also saw Peter Gade training young disciples.
There’s something about top athletes that I respect and admire very deeply. But something about athletes is that they are 99% about muscle memory and repetition.
One of my personal goals in life is to me the top of the top in every industry. I want to meet the best. I have a note in Self-Learning about how to learn VERY fast, and it’s about being amongst the best and learning from them.
But athletes, compared to more creative style top of the top artists like film directors, music creators, they are less “interesting” in terms of the diversity of the things that they create?
- It’s just different types of entertainments
Anyways, I got a Whoop this year, hoping to become my best self physically again. And this time, not be physically fit just for the sake of looking good (which for me simply meant be lean and get muscles). But be fit so you can have good Physical Fitness, and live longer like Bryan Johnson.
And I want to get better at badminton because I truly enjoy it. Yet is badminton a distraction from my other main aspiration of becoming like a really really good engineer? I think so. But only if you spend WAY too much time on badminton.
- But if you have balance, remember strong body = strong mind. Else, you are going to be lethargic and have much less energy.
I want to be good to feel good.
But to be good you need to suck. There are days where you are going to feel like you are the best player in the world at badminton, and there are days where you suck so so much, but those days you just need to keep pushing.
So why do I play badminton:
- because there’s nothing quite like the feeling of hitting a badminton shuttlecock and the crisp sound that comes from it
- it’s SO FUN
Why do I want to get better at badminton:
- Because it feels good to be good
Is this something worth dedicating more time to?
- Like I already play lots of badminton. Maybe like 3x a week. Yet I don’t feel like I am improving much. It very much feels like stagnation. I am already 21 years old. I don’t have much time left if I want to improve and hit my peak.
I am not happy with my form. Not happy with my speed. Not happy with my technique. And muscle memory is something super hard to change.
I guess everything about the way I play badminton.
But remember that Comparison is the thief of joy.
I feel like the first thing that I need to change about myself is that I am not explosive enough on court. This is why I really struggle to take the shuttlecock in front of me.
I think badminton is my way of obtaining Physical Fitness. It’s the best way. I can have fun doing it.
Gym is more for maintaining muscle.
The real reason...
You really really want to beat Kevin. He is your best friend, inspires you, yet your whole life he’s beaten you. I’ve accepted my fate. But that doesn’t mean I will stop continuing to improve and try to surpass him one day :))