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Here on the Jersey Shore, my friend, Sandy, and I have been playing pickleball at a new indoor facility a few times this week. We had not been before and didn't know what to expect from the other players, yet thankfully experienced a delightful time, played hard, and thoroughly enjoyed every game. People were friendly and the facility was really nice.
On Monday, as we were finishing up our 2.5 hour Open Play session, the score was 10-7. Four women were practically standing on our court "hovering" as they waited for us to get off "their court," yet not willing to wait for one of our teams to finish scoring to 11. (We were only a few minutes past our court time.)
They bitched and moaned and whined as we were trying to play, that they had reserved the court and were frank in telling us to get the hell off. They were quite unfriendly, very bitchy, and unaccommodating. Next thing we knew - smack in the middle of our serve - all four women boldly walked onto our court, pushed us out, and took over.
I do not have to point out that this was not good pickleball court etiquette. It is not even good HUMAN etiquette! Their actions were rude, unsportsman-like and unnecessary. (A little patience - please!?!?)
Sandy and I, and the other two on our opposing team, looked at each other, like WTH?? We were shocked over their bad bitchy behavior.
Certainly they upset us, and naturally, as we were walking out to the car, sweat dripping everywhere, we bitched and whined about it. Then we caught ourselves. I said, "Wait a second, we cannot let those four witches in under five minutes take away our 2.5 hours of a good experience playing pickleball here! We must let this go." So we did.
Snippeteers, say you are on vacation for a week and have a marvelous time. All goes well. It was relaxing, happy, peaceful, fun. On the way home, you get a flat tire. Should that bit of bad timing ruin your entire week of relaxation and fun? Should you harp and harp on it more than chatting about what a splendid vacation you experienced?
Say you are with a company for nine years. You love the position. You love your co-workers - they are your dear friends and work family. You have had a terrific run with the company. But during the last two months you're there, before moving on or retiring, an undesirable boss is hired who steps in to replace the boss you love and have worked well with during your tenure. Should that crazy boss experience and those two "bad" months ruin the splendid run you had for the last nine years? Are you going to go on and on about that negativity when someone asks you about your career - or will you focus on the good years?
As humans, we all too easily seem to pick out the negative parts of a situation and tend to focus on them more than the good parts. It takes discipline to turn around the talk, to focus on the positive experiences, and to praise the good instead of whining about the bad.
When a little bit of "bitch" steps into your court, smack it away and focus instead on the good parts of the game.
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