A very good friend, consoling me over some not-so-positive news yesterday ended her email with “chin up mate, don’t push the universe, it was obviously not meant to be.”
Whilst the sentiment is nice, I have to dispute the middle part. Why shouldn’t I push the universe? Why should I settle for here and now? Surely it is a good thing to want to improve oneself and stretch the boundaries.
I’ve been doing that on my journey of learning how to play bridge. Just when I think I might be doing okay, I manage to clock up a new all-time low score. It could be really demoralising but I’ve learnt how to laugh at my mistakes. I’m also pushing other boundaries by restarting my study. The study I am pleased to report is going considerably better than the bridge. Two assignments back so far have been well into the 80 percent range.
I guess what I am trying to say is that it is good to push the universe. You might be able to change things for the better and you lose nothing by trying. And in the words of Bill Crosby “in order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
