The other day on AMXbooks 626, I spoke of “a lifelong pursuit of the ideal” in reference to George Pocock, the boatbuilder/mentor for the 1936 Univ. of Washington Olympic gold medal team.

That idea is as clear as any idea I’ve ever read. Lifelong learning and continuous improvement is about a lifelong pursuit of the ideal. It’s not about perfection, it’s about a never-ending commitment to do your best, in every area of your life. To think that you’ll reach perfection in any area is not human, but to believe in your heart and soul that you’ll strive for perfection, the ideal, is what lies at the heart of soul being human, in my opinion.

I was watching a hunting show the other day (Steven Rinella – MeatEater), and he said how his dad, no matter what, if Steve and his brothers asked him to take them hunting, he would take them. It was his way, I’m surmising, of ensuring the highest odds that he would pass on to his boys the thing he loved and believed in most.

As a father, I can’t definitively say if it’s the sport of wrestling or the pursuit of the ideal that I love most, but it was certainly the sport of wrestling that ignited my pursuit of the ideal, and I hope to pass on that ideal to my kids.

So I’ve made it a goal of mine, an ideal worthy of my highest pursuit, that whenever Gracie and Rocky ask to wrestle, no matter what, I say yes, and we get down on the ground and wrestle. I won’t hit the mark w/ 100% accuracy, but if perfection is my bar, I can only land high. Our wrestling sessions have developed such that Mom sits on the couch and tends to the tears that inevitably come, then quickly gets them back in the game.

Whatever path Gracie and Rocky choose, competitive or not, it’s my belief that to ensure the highest odds of them embracing an ideal pursuit of their own, I must pursue mine w/ all of my being.