Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Woman Unsure How To Tell Boyfriend To Give Up Dream

A woman seeking advice from a friend last night explained that she was unsure if or how she should tell her boyfriend that it might be time to give up his dream of playing professional football. She said that on the one hand she wanted to support him in the pursuit of the things that made him happy and there was little question that everything pertaining to football did just that. On the other hand she said that he was now almost thirty, hadn't played in a competitive manner in almost five years, and despite his best effort had not fully recovered from the injury that earlier ended his career. She said that even he would admit that his times and abilities were not what they used to be. But he had worked exhaustively to get himself in shape and had become convinced that his 'heart' would aid him where his body fell short.
While she felt this was noble and even somewhat inspiring, his efforts to get back into 'football shape' had come at the expense of opportunities to get steady work or finish school. She said that it felt like he was sacrificing things he could achieve to pursue the one thing he could not.
The friend said the woman was more than justified in feeling her boyfriend needed to face reality. She said there was nothing noble about selfishly pursuing a hopeless cause and said that if her boyfriend cared about anyone other than himself he would see that and move on with his life.
The woman said that six out of seven days a week she was inclined to agree. But on Monday mornings when her boyfriend's alarm went off and he leapt out of bed to workout while she struggled to drag herself to work she wondered if she wasn't the one who had it wrong.
Maybe it's not whether or not you achieve your goals, she said, but whether they make you excited about getting out of bed.

2 comments:

Harry said...

That's one of those "gray" areas, isn't it. If she's practical, she'd leave him, and quickly. But if she leans toward being a romantic, then she has no choice but to support him and his "folly".

Unknown said...

Interesting how practicality and romance are opposed. Have to remind my girlfriend of that next time she complains. 'Don't think of it as a lack of romance dear, it's an abundance of practicality.'