I wasted 12 years of my life trying to play table tennis

[NextLevel]

Philosophical reflections from a young man who didn't get to the top of the sport despite investing a lot of time playing.

 

[davidsyd828]

That is a great video which we all should learn. Life is a journey. Thank for spending time to do this.

 

[the-don]

what kind of life do you imagine other kids have?
They go to school, play sports, party once in a while.... that's it.
I bet when you are 40 and spend your days behind a desk you'll be like
"Man I wish I could go back to being young again and spend my days playing TT"

 

[Conehead]

Making sports never is a waste of life.

 

[mihalichtheone]

Philosophical reflections from a young man who didn't get to the top of the sport despite investing a lot of time playing.

When a person talks about his achievements (medals and trophies) 'junk' it literally tells something about his attitude towards table tennis. He never truly loved it.

Ok he actually says that around 7:10, good thing that he understands that and good video overall, I think I personally got to the same conclusions in life when I was around 25. (and now being a father, I hope to teach my kid the best I can)

Now at 34, I can for sure say that success comes only from the inside: your attitude, your focus, your thoughts, your words, basically -- your mind. If you see yourself as successful athlete - you will be.

Even if I only get an hour to practice, I’ll give it my all. That’s the feeling I cherish the most. It’s hard for others to understand, but for me, it’s not tiring or boring—it’s fulfilling.

Ma Long.

 

[Der_Echte]

He asks himself and others a lot of great questions, philosophical stuff. He has his head on straight.

Myself, I did not get into TT at early childhood, I started at age 42.I

I love TT. I am not nor will I ever be the best player in the room in any room.

I lose in tourneys, only made finals or won only a small percentage of the time.

What is great about TT is the PROCESS - you learn about yourself and others. You also become a better person - TT journey will humble you.

Even if you crash out doing your best, or simply horrible, there is ALWAYS another BIG TOURNEY goal to work towards and it is even better if you experience it with close friends and go on missions. You might even get the chance to help others.

TT Daily and other TT forums have enabled me to leverage this when I travel and meet friends and enjoy the TT life everywhere.

 

[victormanriquey]

Myself, I did not get into TT at early childhood, I started at age 42.I

I love TT. I am not nor will I ever be the best player in the room in any room.

I lose in tourneys, only made finals or won only a small percentage of the time.

What is great about TT is the PROCESS - you learn about yourself and others. You also become a better person - TT journey will humble you.

Even if you crash out doing your best, or simply horrible, there is ALWAYS another BIG TOURNEY goal to work towards and it is even better if you experience it with close friends and go on missions. You might even get the chance to help others.

TT Daily and other TT forums have enabled me to leverage this when I travel and meet friends and enjoy the TT life everywhere.

I fully identify with this message <3

 

[merlin el mago]

12 years and still you don't know what's table tennis:

-Isn't only a sport
-It's superation
-It's work
-It's effort
-It's never give it up
-It's pain
-It's joy
-It's fight
-It's pride
-It's life
-It's always learning
-It's always keep trying better
-It's when you loose when you learn
-It's etc.....

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

TT is a way for my Tueday's pizza and buffolo wings to be out of my system quicker...

 

[mihalichtheone]

12 years and still you don't know what's table tennis:

-Isn't only a sport
-It's superation
-It's work
-It's effort
-It's never give it up
-It's pain
-It's joy
-It's fight
-It's pride
-It's life
-It's always learning
-It's always keep trying better
-It's when you loose when you learn
-It's etc.....

how about

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name

 

[Zezima]

I mean I get the message and as long as you enjoy the process I also think it's not wasted time. However I disagree and just because you don't know the goal or believe in nothing (why we are here etc) that you can't waste it. Drugs,alcohol, staying in toxic relationships, doomscrolling etc too many to count is a wasted life for me atleast. I for myself enjoy the process and finding out my limits at the same time. Playing just to win without enjoying the sport is also a "wasted life" for me.

 

[darucla]

It's worth watching to the end. As someone who started playing very late in life (66), I have sometimes found myself wondering why
I do it. I suspect if you don't have that, you are probably not paying attention. As he says, it's not about winning a match or a medal, it's about literally everything else.

 

[TampaBayTableTennis]

enjoyed this!

 

[ajtatosmano2]

Practice brings me the same joy as playing the game. The players who struggle improving are the ones who don't love the practice, they burn out. I've seen plenty talented kids who invested lots of time and money into the sport but as they get closer to the end of their youth years, they can' break the top rankings. The quality of practice declines if they find it a necessary evil and the frustrations of not being successful despite training a lot hurt their mental health. I totally get that Ma Long quote and I am always sad when I hear top players saying they hate their sport.

 

[Infernal]

 

[Tuga]

Philosophical reflections from a young man who didn't get to the top of the sport despite investing a lot of time playing.

Great video, congratulations! Thanks for sharing. I am a father with two kids in the same situation—one is 19 and the other is 16—and I would love to know what your parents think about all of this.
They are certainly happy with the person you have become.

 

[Ghostzen]

From experience seeing players who were fantastic prospects and striving for the top to plateau is more common than expected.

Lots change in young lives and also education and other things get in the way sometimes.

It’s actually the sudden realization that they aren’t improving at their previous levels. Then they are out of squads for elite training and so on then become disillusioned and stop or play for the love of the sport. It’s really hard work to get to a top level at under cadet up to under 21 in a country let alone move on from there. Then to continue to excel and forsake everything else is a hard decision for youngsters and the parents who support them in the background managing and weighing up choices.

 

[lightspin]

The thing is there are 1000s of kids just like him and only a few will make it to the top. Even though he did spend 12 years training, other kids got way better training and much more guidance. It sounds like he didn't get a lot of coaching despite having good results. To be a top player the stars have to align a very specific and rare way. Also the life of the very very best players is glamorous but for those ranked just a bit lower, all that glitters is definitely not gold. It is a tough existence.

Was it a waste? Only he can decide that. I know a lot of players who aren't that great and love what they are doing. There is nothing wrong with that.

 

[Dr Evil]

No difficult pursuit is a waste of time if you make friends doing it. It might be, though, if it separates you from other people, especially when you're young.

 

[the-don]

The thing is there are 1000s of kids just like him and only a few will make it to the top. Even though he did spend 12 years training, other kids got way better training and much more guidance. It sounds like he didn't get a lot of coaching despite having good results. To be a top player the stars have to align a very specific and rare way. Also the life of the very very best players is glamorous but for those ranked just a bit lower, all that glitters is definitely not gold. It is a tough existence.

Was it a waste? Only he can decide that. I know a lot of players who aren't that great and love what they are doing. There is nothing wrong with that.

Training and guidance are secondary.
You need to be born with all the right characteristics to be able to achieve the highest levels.