Yesterday, during the UW Men's Basketball game, Assistant Teaching Professor JP Anderson was honored as the Educator of the Game! JP wrote to his students and reflected on last night's game stating, "The Huskies lost the game…but they won the battle. I never once saw them lose heart and succumb to hopelessness. They never gave up on themselves, despite the pressure and the disappointment. That game was a microcosm of the many challenges of life: pressure, stress, disappointment, lack of control; all the reasons we might surrender to despair and step away from our path to discovering our potential. But we only get one guaranteed shot at life. And the real battle is not about winning or losing, but living…truly living, not just merely existing."
JP added, "Really living means tolerating the discomfort that stress and disappointments bring into our bodies and minds and resisting the urge to give into despair. Despair is a shortcut for moving out of discomfort; it is a false sense of control. But if we can realize the value of experiencing discomfort and taking risks, the temptation to exist as a lesser version of ourselves can be overcome. Our future selves will thank us for learning that discomfort is our ally and not our enemy."
- Let yourself experience discomfort, be assured it is the path of growth
- Live and speak your truth
- Stay engaged
- TAKE RISKS