The Wild Bounce: Finding Balance in the Highs and Lows

I just got home from my son’s hockey game. It was the semifinals of a local tournament. My son is 12, and he’s been playing hockey since he was five. We’ve played in well over 20 tournaments—he’s never won any of them. I think he’s made it to the finals twice, but he’s never come out on top.

Those second-place finishes were tough, but nothing stung the way this morning’s loss did. Down 2–1 with 30 seconds left, his team pulled the goalie and, unbelievably, scored the tying goal. The adrenaline rush was unreal. All they had to do was run out the clock and—boom—overtime. But with no time left, the other team scored the flukiest goal imaginable. One wild tip after another, and suddenly the puck was fluttering into the net as the final horn sounded: 3–2, bad guys. Twenty-first tournament loss. The agony of defeat.

Life is full of these swings—ups and downs, peaks and valleys, highs and lows. We’ve all heard the clichés, but they’re clichés for a reason. One minute you’re ecstatic, the next you’re a sobbing mess.

Growing up, my mother loved reminding me of this brutal life truth. I’d be laughing in the late afternoon and she’d say, “Stop it, or you’ll be crying before bed.” Not exactly comforting for a kid—but she was usually right. Somehow, by bedtime, the tide always turned.

Now, at 45, I’d like to think I’ve mastered the art of balance: never too high, never too low. But if you’d seen me after my son’s team tied the score this morning, you’d know I clearly have not. I was hooting and hollering like a wild banshee—way too high. And when that last-second goal went in, I was way too low. But that’s the thing: life has a way of balancing itself out, whether we want it to or not.

It’s no secret that working out is good for the body and the mind. But what we often forget is that fitness is one of the best analogies for life. It’s a journey. There are stretches when the needle moves exactly how you want it to—you’re getting to the gym, eating well, and your goals feel close. And then, for reasons you can’t explain, you’re doing all the same things and your goals seem to drift further away. Instead of letting it be, the instinct is to push harder. Add more cardio. Tighten your diet. Throw in an extra leg day. Anything to force the momentum back in your favor.

In fitness, we call this the plateau. And no matter how cleanly you eat or how hard you grind, everyone hits it eventually.

Life works the same way. It’s always going to hand you some lows. Maybe they’re just a reality check to keep you honest. Maybe they’re the reason we learn to have perspective and appreciation for what’s good in our lives.

​Either way, we can’t get too high when we’re nearing a goal, because until or unless there’s no time left on the clock, there’s always a chance the puck could find its way into the back of the net, no matter how unbelievable it is.

Founder of TRH Personal Training, Christine Ravesi-Weinstein a NASM-CPT. reminds us that strength isn't perfection - its the courage to keep showing up, one honest rep at a time.