Asthma Paints The Wrong Story

(Contributed by Mitch Greene)

When I was in High School, I was a very competitive tennis player. One day I was playing a singles match against my archrival and friend. Matches with him were some of the best I played. We were both on our game and evenly matched. Each point lasted much longer than usual, and we were wearing each other out. Plus, it was summer – hot and humid!

We were battling down to the very end. That last grueling point seemed to go on forever. Toward the end, I noticed a tightness in my chest. This meant one thing – an asthma attack was coming. That’s a problem. If you were close, you’d hear the wheezing. I started to get dizzy, my lungs were burning, and the lack of oxygen meant quickly fatiguing muscles. All of this was happening in seconds. With little to nothing left, I hit a solid, deep forehand and headed to the net. It was a good hit as the return was fed right back to me. I smashed it away from my opponent and took the match.

Then I dropped.

My teammate in the next court immediately knew what happened and retrieved my inhaler.

Meanwhile, my opponents’ coach, known for her slightly over competitive spirit, took the wrong narrative. She thought I fell to the court in celebration and began yelling at me to get up. She chose not to consider all the possibilities and chose the one that fit her best. Eventually, she got the truth, but her pride kept her quiet in the moments to follow. She eventually apologized.

Our brains make immediate assumptions about people. It’s natural. And it’s dangerous. We are a judging bunch, as humans – again by nature. That judgment usually is rooted in our narrative – our lens of truth. This coach had a skeptical narrative and chose the wrong way to view my situation. It cost her credibility.

The next time we make an immediate judgment, perhaps we should pull back and think first. Maybe there is another perspective. And perhaps we won’t step in it like this coach did.