Every Friday, I post some of the coolest things I found (or explored) that week. I borrowed the concept from Tim Ferriss’ 5-Bullet Friday. Since I don’t want to commit to exactly 5 things, there will only be some points, which may change from week to week. My main motivation is to keep up the habit of regular blog posts with little effort, and to have a little archive of cool things I’ve stumbled upon.
This week was a short one for me as I was at the Baltic Sea from Sunday to Wednesday. Plenty of time to just look at the water, eat fries and listen to podcasts.
What I’m listening to
This American Life: “Letters! Actual Letters! When the best—and perhaps only—way to say something is to write it down.” I recently discovered the podcast This American Life, where they tell stories on different topics each week. This episode is about letters, like handwritten letters sent through the mail. They talk to a mail carrier, they read letters on different topics from people who write them from very different places in their lives. These letters give an amazing insight into this small part of people’s lives. I really like writing on paper and have been a fan of letter writing, but haven’t done it in a long time. This podcast made me wonder if maybe I should start again.
I often struggle to tell people things verbally because I struggle to find the meaning that I have in my head. Taking the time to write down things I want to say often allows me to go very deep and say things the way I want to say them. Avoiding the performative part of telling someone in order to find the right tone or words on the spot.
What I’m watching
“The Lonely Goalkeeper” is a four-minute film that touches on themes of competition, fear and self-belief. It profiles the British soccer legend Bob Wilson as he reflects on the “desperate courage” required to be a goalie.
I can relate to this feeling of loneliness in a team sport, having spent most of my soccer career in goal. I experienced this in clubs where, as a very young goalkeeper, I didn’t have the confidence of the team and therefore didn’t have the courage to play my best. I struggled with that a lot when I was younger, when I didn’t feel like I was part of the team or that I didn’t have the full support of the other team members. But most of that was just in my head, reinforced by negative self-talk.
Today it feels different, probably because I am one of the older and more experienced players, which brings a natural respect. Last Friday I played my first official game in over a decade and had a pretty decent performance, saving a couple of goals in the first half, communicating well with the defense and saving the team in the penalty shootout. We won 8-9 on penalties (3-3 full time).
Goalkeeping is probably 80% mental and 20% physical. In yesterday’s friendly I wasn’t too happy with my mental game. Looking back, I was thinking too much about playing for someone else instead of playing for myself and just having fun. That caused me to make mistakes and just get caught up in my head more. Reflections like this are hopefully a good stopper for downward spirals and turning points to improve.
What I’m reading
I was reading and listing to quite some things about the current things happening in the US elections. I was quite impressed by the leadership of Biden forming such a unified party over the last years, now stepping aside even though his ego probably says he could still win. Yes, he got pushed out because others didn’t believe he could still win this but it still takes courage to take your ego out of the way to make the team (the party in this case) successful. These are some articles/episodes I have read/listed to and can recommend:
- The Daily: Bides Leaves the Stage
- Pod Save America: The Late Show with Joe Biden
- Trump Turned the Democratic Party Into a Pitiless Machine
What I’m excited about
This weekend is packed with events I am looking forward to, two concerts and a soccer match. On Friday I’m going to see “the best band in the world” Die Ärzte, on Saturday Deichkind and on Sunday we play our second league match. So wish me luck 🤞
Alright, that’s it for this week. Enjoy your weekend! 👋