Remember the cheesy Molson EX commercials a few years ago? A couple dudes pop in on their buddy to let him know that life is all about balance -- there's a time for gettin' it on, and then there's time to have a few beers with your pals. As cheesy as this message was, I think it holds very true.
Consider any movie or television program. For the purposes of this exercise, maybe focus on the Disney movies. All of the animated classics had some of the most despicable and colorful villains -- Cinderella's evil stepmother, the wicked queen in Sleeping Beauty, Cruella Deville in 101 Dalmations. Without these chilling and aggravating villains doling out their nastiness, one can't appreciate the triumph of the hero. Would you agree?
I think the same applies to one's personal and professional development. There has to be balance. If you have a kid coming up through the ranks in a wrestling school, for example -- if all they hear is criticism, this guy is not going to develop as well as someone that receives healthy amounts of praise and encouragement. However, when the inverse is true, and that same student is given praise all of the time and no criticism, that can be equally damaging. Then you get a kid with an over-inflated sense of self-worth that believes they can do no wrong.
If I was to write a column today focusing only on the positive attributes of any talent in the business, I think a lot of folks might enjoy the light reading, and the wrestler himself might point that out to a few friends and say "Hey, look at the great things somebody said about me." One might even drop a quick thank you note via e-mail for such praise. That glowing review may well be true -- but that's not to say that the guy is perfect. I can tell you that when the article singles out the negative, whether an on-going problem with the guy, or a single specific mis-step, the reaction is entirely different. However, in order to appreciate the praise, you have to also take the criticism.
Stepping away from wrestling, those folks in their 9 to 5 roles can talk at length about the mind-numbing boredom that is associated with the manner in which they make a living. However, the mundane Monday to Friday only makes one appreciate the fun and excitement scheduled for the weekend. If it was fun and games every day -- we appreciate the big occasions less. Surely, you've heard of a little thing called work-life balance? Many struggle with that one.
From the perspective of a performer, a guy that looks at the world from the opposite side of the ropes that most experience, we are all hoping to deliver the best match of our career on any given night. Both for the fans in attendance and our own personal pride, we want to wrap that match up and walk to the locker room knowing that we couldn't have given the fans anything more. Not every night provides that opportunity, and in order to maintain perspective, I will seek out peers and ask their thoughts. I don't look for the guys who are going to blow smoke up my ass and tell me what was good - the fans have already done that through their reaction to the match. I want those "friends" to tell me where they thought the match fell down. This is the best way that I know to stay objective.
On Friday night, one of my dearest colleagues needed only to give me a somewhat stunned eyebrow raise for me to know that he had just witnessed the worst Vance Nevada match of all time. Remember boys and girls -- it takes two wrestlers to have a bad match, just as it takes two to have a great one. Chalk it up to a learning experience -- and I've been in the gym harder this week than I have in the past year, there's identified room for improvement.
In life, you need to take the good with the bad. You can't appreciate the greatest success as much unless you have lived through the struggle. Hmm, maybe this is why so few of the current generation of WWE Superstars are so appealing to the casual wrestling fan ... but that's a can of worms to kick open on another day.
Vance Nevada