Unnessary Roughness By: Karen Pilarski

Unnecessary Roughness is an illegal sports action.  In football it is where a player uses moves beyond what is needed to intercept or tackle another player.  I believe in working hard and collaboration to be successful. It seems I’m always left holding the ball. Where are my defensive players? Life sometimes tosses a fast ball and it not careful can bean someone square in the face.  I’ve been the recipient of similar injuries.  

It seems the dirty tactic has been used more than it should. If this was a regular season my touchdown record would be poor.  Sure every aspiring super star goes through a slump.  There are financial, relationships and job slumps. Unfortunately, it can snowball into one gigantic slump.  I’ve put in the practice and straitening but always seems to be yards behind everyone else.  The touchdown I’m aiming for is to pursue my passion of writing. Mostly I want to dodge the many financial, professional and personal tackles endured lately.  

It has been said people have to start out as rookies and work their way up to the majors. Foolishly I thought as a rookie I could play the winning move. Uncoordinated and clumsy, I missed the pass and lost the game. 

The other day I lost out on a great job. Not because I wasn’t talented or lacking appeal. My skills for that position weren’t ready for the Super Bowl of jobs. The defeat was a bit painful. That victory would have helped to climb out of my slump. That is the bad thing about putting all hopes into one shot is that the failure weighs down heavily. Disappointment piles up and presses down on the body. The pressure makes it hard to breathe.   

The old adage is “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose but how you played the game”.  The same can be said about slumps and unnecessary roughness.  Every job can’t be attained nor can every relationship work out.  It is a competitive world out there. Some use bad sportsmanship to fight and trick to get what they want.  There are risks of being sidelined or penalized. Instead of a pity party, congratulate the winners and come up with a new goal. The real winners are the players who take the losses and use them as constructive lessons to improve.