Many people and organizations advocate choosing the hard right over the easy wrong. What is the key word in that sentence? The key word is choosing; it is about choice. Sometimes in life, we feel like we do not have choice but we nearly always do.

Take the high school wrestler who cannot break into the lineup at his optimum weight. He may feel like he has no choice but to go up a weight and wrestle in that spot. However, he does have other choices, he can choose to stay at his optimal weight and work hard to get better and work towards winning that position. He can empower himself through strength training to make himself more competitive at the next weight class. The feeling of not having a choice is merely that, a feeling, an emotion. Sometimes in life, all we can control is our attitude. By controlling his attitude, the wrestler in this vignette accepts that he has choices and they are his. Once made, you accept the choice, embrace it, and pursue it like any other goal. The decision was not forced on you; you made it, own it.

The older we get the more impact our choices have. I have thought a lot about choices lately as my family has faced some tough decisions. I think I speak accurately for them when I say that: one, the choices were not easy, and two, we are not enthusiastic about the decision made, even though it was ours to make. When you strip the emotion out of the situation, difficult but not impossible, the decision is a no-brainer. Nevertheless, emotions make the decision difficult and leave us feeling confused, sad, melancholy, hurt, guilty, and lost. It is rational not irrational to feel this way, or perhaps it is more accurate to say it is normal to feel this way, despite the fact that we know the decision we made is the best one for our family. Emotions are fine; they are one of many elements that make us human. However, we cannot let negative emotions drive our actions or bring us down. We must embrace our decision, own it, and pursue it like all our other endeavors.

My family concluded months of deliberation Saturday evening with a decision to move to Moore County. Who would think that a move of less than 30 miles would be so difficult? Nevertheless, it is, for many, many reasons. The temptation is to say, ‘we don’t want to move, we have to move’ however, that is not true, because we, like the wrestler, have choices. We made a choice for the good of our family and it is time to act on that decision.

So we say ‘See you later’ not ‘good-bye’ to our Rhinos. It has truly been a privilege and an honor to be involved in some small way in so many lives. I know that it is because of great young men and women, Rhinos past and present, that the Rhino Wrestling Club has such a great reputation and I look forward to watching and supporting you for many more years. I simply do not have the words to express how much gratitude I have for being allowed to be involved with this organization for so long. So, I simply say…

“Rhinos 4 Life”
~Coach B