About Being On The List
In the past 24 hours, I've seen wrestlers voice their excitement about being on The List. I've also read people bemoan the fact that they did't make it on the list like they lost the Powerball drawing by one stinking number.
It's prestigious to an extent, I guess. But this whole thing reminds me of the days when I was a bodybuilding judge. I don't mean to slam any competitive bodybuilders, but folks, that sport is probably one of the biggest wastes of time and money around. You're basically buying a trophy or medal with your registration fee. Standards? What standards? I'm not going to get crass, but if you're not on the judges' good side and if you're not willing to flash your pearly whites and pucker up, forget it. Do the best in the gym and let the results speak for themselves. But I digress.
Let's get some perspective. Wrestling is a work, and we all know that, and the chances of you boarding the SS WWE are like being chosen for the NFL when you're a high school quarterback. Maybe the talent scouts will read that list ... maybe they won't. Maybe they'll zero in on your name, or they'll skim right past you. Maybe they get distracted by something bright and shiny just as they're about to read your name. Who knows?
Do you know how many actors never get an audition or a callback, let alone an Oscar nomination? There are thousands upon thousands of actors who never get an award yet they keep doing the work and they're happy to do so until the day they're not here anymore.
I understand that we all need positive strokes and encouragement from our community, but look at some possible underlying beliefs you might have about yourself. Like maybe you're in fear and you feel like you're not enough, which is the biggest steaming pantload ever. You also could turn that around and use the list as evidence that you're enough or you're not enough to support that belief. Don't fall into that trap. You're too good for that.
Someone once said "I interpret, and in the moment I interpret, I become the interpretation." Think about it. We live our lives by our interpretation of everything we experience. So you may look at that list and say "Wow, I rank #500. I suck," or "I rank #500. I finally made the list!"
Don't let your inclusion or exclusion on a list validate or invalidate what you're doing in the ring. Just like Bodybuilding and Acting when it comes to Oscar Time, the results are subjective. There is no fair way of measuring accomplishment in very subjective forums.
There are much more important and empowering lists in life. Like "how do I rank with my loved ones?" Like "How do I rank in being in contribution to my community?" Most importantly "How do I rank with myself?" Those are the things that will outlast any subjective list.
Be in a commitment to do your best work every time you step in the ring. Let your work speak for itself. Be businessmen and businesswomen when it comes to promoting YOUR business, which is you. If you want to be in business for yourself, which is the indy way, then step it up. Admit what you don't know about marketing yourself. There are tons of resources. Take advantage of them.
One of these days you'll have to hang up the tights for good, and the last thing you want to do is look back and wondered why you fretted about being on a damn list.
