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Sometimes, It’s Good to Play Badly

A lot could be said for bad bridge playing.  (And a lot has been said about bad bridge playing.) 

But I’d also like to add that sometimes it’s good to play badly.

Let’s start by saying this was a terrible week for my bridge playing ability. Clubbed to death, stabbed in the Heart, cut with a Diamond and then buried six feet underground with a Spade and a minus-score. A minus score, I’ll tell you.

Do I feel bad about having played badly? No. (But I’m thankful that none of the games were for cash, masterpoints or accolades; that would just have been embarrassing.) 

If I’m ever going to play any better, I can’t expect all the games to go well. People become good at things because they were bad at them first; have you ever fallen off a bicycle, motorcycle or horse, for example?) 

Losing is part of the game. Improving is part of the challenge. Life works in a lot of the same way, if there’s a moment or reason to get deeper about this.

An unchallenged politician would be a dictator. An unchallenged bridge player would be bored. An unchallenged TCG player is usually the villain of the series (and might even be cheating to get there).

We need competition. We need challenges. Sometimes, we need losing, too.

I played badly this week, but this doesn’t mean I was terrible the week before – or I’m going to be the week after.

In fact, I’ve got a couple of more games to think about. A few more things to look at. Something to build on.

That’s going forward, isn’t it? 

Sometimes it’s good to play badly, so don’t judge your ability as a whole if it happens that you do. 

There’s always the next game, and best of luck in being better.