Brilliant musings by Max from a Freshman English assignment:
I was recently confronted with a question like I have never heard before. "Do you expect as much out of yourself as you do of your toilet?" As I pondered this tidbit, I had a realization. I always expect optimum performance from my toilet but there are times when I accept less than my best out of myself. Whether it is in the rodeo arena or in writing, I realized that if I expect only the best from myself, I usually get it.
There was one particular memory that kept creeping into the back of my mind, however. I was thinking of the time when I broke my hand. I was so expectant of greatness that day that I finished an entire rodeo with a broken hand (I broke it in the first event of the five that I was entered in). Consequently, I ended up winning a check in two events, which was enough to obtain an all-around title for the day. This was an eye opener that showed me what I could accomplish if I don't accept anything but my best all of the time.
Yet, while it may be true that I can accomplish greatness when I expect it, it is also true that I will not achieve greatness if I don't expect it out of myself. For instance, early on in my rodeo career, I was convinced that I was unable to get off my horse in the goat tying. Crash after crash after crash took place and, for some reason unknown to me, I kept going and crashing again. I found that I wasn't expecting myself to succeed therefore I wasn't. An epiphany hit me; if I believe I can - I do; yet if I have little faith in myself - I fail countless times. Life is all about how you think. Your brain is the most powerful weapon that you are given, and it is also the most destructive.
Now, as I travel back from memory land to real life, I find myself contemplating my toilet. Every time I flush, I remind myself that I should expect greatness of myself. I should operate at optimum performance all of the time.
Max getting off (and not crashing) in the goat tying at the Jr High National Finals!
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