Potentials

So today, my friend Dusty Boyer won the Minnesota State high school league AA tennis championship. the boy has worked hard all year and out of all the good tennis players i know, he is probably the least arrogant. i went with a couple of my friends from my tennis club to go watch and were pleased to see our old teaching pros that we had in high school were there to support one of their players. before the final after watching dusty win his semifinal match, one of them told me something that was somewhat upsetting. well maybe upsetting isnt the word but it made me thing. what he said was "this could have been you jon". when i think about it, it definitely could have been. I'm a hard worker, talented, smart, composed, and very dedicated to the things i do so last year, it very well could be. in fact, it probably should have been. but in reality, not only did i not win state but i didnt even make it there. sure i was sick a lot during the season and i had trouble with my shoulder. honestly i kind of chocked it away. although this is probably not a big part of the problem, its unsettling to think about. what if i was afraid to reach my true potential? was i afraid to put myself out there and lose just before the final. if this is a problem with me, not that i think it was at all, its impact will go far far beyond the tennis court. if anyone were ever afraid to reach their true potential, then they'll likely never even reach the modest goals they set for themselves for fear of having to push themselves farther.