Stupid question

Here's a really fucking stupid question I've asked myself a few times: why haven't I gotten hurt yet? I'm doing this now because I've collected a couple of little niggles that don't quite make it onto the injured - hurt - fucked up continuum (I think a Dave Tate idea) but that did remind me that it exists.

Sometimes it seems like getting hurt is a rite of passage in powerlifting. If you haven't gotten hurt and come back how the fuck are you supposed to know how tough you are? Which is bullshit. I haven't been training long enough to get hurt. I'm not strong enough to get hurt. Above all, I should be damn thankful I haven't gotten hurt, let alone fucked up.

I don't know, I guess I haven't been around powerlifting long enough to get a feel for it but I get the impression that maybe we're at a turning point and we're starting to realise it might be a pretty smart idea of avoid getting hurt - even if it does slow progress down a little.

Back to the question, which has a simple answer. I'm not crazy, and that's made me lucky. I don't push the limits, and I'll dump the bar if I have to. I just don't have a do or die mentality.

That's the other really fucking stupid question I've asked myself: am I ever going to be any good? Here's a tip, genius: stop wasting your mental energy wondering if you'll ever be any good and work. At least you'll get better.

That's the other kind of stupid thing. I've accepted that at some point I probably will get hurt. I might be able to avoid it for a while, but at some point the chances are I'll mess myself up a bit. It isn't getting hurt that scares me. It's the possibility that something else will snap and I won't get back under the bar. That's the real test, I guess. I'm not worried that I'm not good or that I'm not tough. I'm pretty sure I am even though I feel like I shouldn't admit it because that's complacent when there are so many people better than I am and I know I can get so much better. What worries me is that I might not be good or tough enough when it matters.