[Hank D Thoreau]

So it goes without saying that we have all mastered archery. So what are some of the things you have put your heart and sole into but were just not able do?

In my case I have to say golf and water skiing. I took golf lessons for 15 years from a very good pro. While my son, who started at age 7, took to golf very quickly, I found that there were times when I was no better in year 15 than I was in year 1. A good round was one where I came back with some balls still in my bag. I discovered very quickly that I did not have an affinity toward skis. Even though I had some success on snow, and actually did a three day climb of a 13,000 foot mountain on skis, I was more of a tumbler than a glider when it came to coming down. Water was even worse. The first time I tried to water ski I went into shock from having my body temperature lowered to near hypothermic levels from getting dragged through the water. A future attempt was more successful only in that the tropical water was too warm to induce hypothermia. Well, that is my story. What miserable failures have you experienced in your life?

 

[Kiwidude]

Instead of using the word 'failure' I think its a lot more constructive to use the phrase 'not there yet'.

I got lost while dirt biking a couple of years ago and a search and rescue helicopter/police were called in. It turns out I was only 2 km's from where I started. My GPS skills were definitely a 'failure'.

 

[John in NZ]

Surfing,
Eating sand and swallowing sea water is probably not good for one in the long term, so I gave that away while I still could.
Rugby,
Some time around puberty all the Pacific islanders and Maori I was playing against suddenly tripled their size while I stayed a skinny weed.
So that turned into a painful fail around then.
Golf,
I used to watch my old man lose his rag over that silly game very early on so I just stayed away from it myself.
Fly fishing,
I couldn't master the false English accent or the snotty attitude so I took up spin fishing along with the rest of the peasant's.
Archery,
I've never been real good at it but I'm not real bad either, I'm not going to drown, I won't get my head stepped on by an overly large indigenous person and I can shoot the odd fish while doing it, so I think I'll just stick with it until I do get real good.

John.

 

[UrbanDeerSlayer]

I dislike golfing tremendously

 

[PETROVIC]

Flying remote control planes...I built about 3 remote control planes. crashed every one of them..so then i bought and built two more, crashed them too.

 

[Kiwidude]

Flying remote control planes...I built about 3 remote control planes. crashed every one of them..so then i bought and built two more, crashed them too.

If crashing was your goal...that makes you one heck of a successful person.

 

[Paul_R]

Bowling. And I wouldn't say I've mastered archery either! :shooting:

 

[stevelong]

I played golf long enough & often enough, I was pretty successful.
Now I play 3-4 times per year, and it illustrates how cool archery is.
Motocross was what I was not great at.
I was usually first to the first turn, then crashed. UN-GOOD.

 

[Sharp Stick]

Marriage! Twice out the gate, twice finished last.

 

[Cyrille]

weight loss, I've been on the "heavy" side for most of my days on earth.

 

[vabowdog]

Playing the piano....I can play just enough to get by but it's not good.



Dewayne

 

[DanaC]

weight loss, I've been on the "heavy" side for most of my days on earth.

X2 - I enjoy good food and drink, and not always in moderation. Heck, not often. ;-)

Other than that, I generally learn a thing well enough to do okay, but seldom master anything. Too many other new things to try.

 

[Matt_Potter]

Archery - and I hope never feel that I have mastered it ;-)

 

[ben maher]

Int rules Thai Boxing , Boxing ... Won some , lost some ... 14 years off and on ..... No world championships ...... Lol !!!

Teaching , Law School , house renovator , amateur theatre , novelist, fly fishing ... Various things I epically failed .......

But onwards and upwards ... I still crack on with some of them !

 

[Phil]

Playing a musical instrument ... any musical instrument. I love music, always have and it's been an integral part of my life. BUT .. I've tried and tried to play an instrument ... any instrument. I've spent a small fortune on superb teachers who've tried their absolute best to get even the basic into me but all to no avail. My dear lady wife brought me a series of guitar lesson for Christmas with a brilliant teacher, but again I failed.
So all you musicians here on TT ... :crymeariv

 

[Kiwidude]

^
Musical instruments can be quite challenging to pick up later in life (so I'm told)...but don't let that hold you back ! Keep plugging away at it. At the end of the day, its all about having fun. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You can do it !! \M/

 

[StevenB]

I think one of the problems is that, often, in many endeavors, our standards, goals and expectations increase faster than our skill level. Unless you are born with a gift or talent for something, a feeling of "failure" is a possible outcome. But, it's better to just understand that excellence takes talent and very hard work, and no one can expect to have talent in all areas, and no one has time to work hard in any more than a few areas and expect to achieve a very high level of success.

I have tried many sports, and generally reach a proficient level in each of them if I put the time in. But, there is a plateau that is reached eventually, and going further is harder and harder as the talent/capability limit and time investment limit is reached.

I always loved music, and after taking a music appreciation course in college, I took up the classical guitar. I reached an intermediate level after many years of daily practice. But, a plateau was reached. I still play on and off, and go through spurts of intense practice and play. But, I started too late, wasn't born with the gifts and have limited time to devote. So, despite achieving a lot in that endeavor, I in fact feel like a bit of a failure with that. Now, I'm thinking to just set my standards lower, use my mediocre skill and play simpler songs and maybe write some songs.

The only thing I can claim to have a talent for and claim to have worked hard to achieve some real success with is in the fields of math/physics/engineering, and professionally I'm an electrical engineer because of that. I've been devoting myself to those areas for the past 35 years since I discovered love and talent at age 14. With this example as a standard for myself, I am doomed to "fail" at just about anything else I do. That is, unless I set different standards of success and excellence for all other areas of my life.

 

[DanaC]

""But, there is a plateau that is reached eventually, and going further is harder and harder as the talent/capability limit and time investment limit is reached."'

Oh, yeah, that infamous plateau. Amazing how many different things you can 'learn' but just to a point, and you stop improving for a long time. The plateau. Breaking through takes a serious effort, often it means that you have to go back, retrace your steps, re-think and re-learn. And un learn, which is the hardest lesson I know.

 

[JOEU]

I never made it to the major leagues, specifically shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. Even after all these years, I still occasionally have dreams of the infield at old Tiger Stadium.

 

[Bowcephalus]

My heart and soul are spread too thin to master anything.....And that's what makes life enjoyable to me. Curiosity frustrates focus sometimes.