Anthony’s table tennis paddle brushed against the top of the ping-pong ball, quickly and powerfully delivering a solid loop that drove the ball far past the ping-pong ball shooter he received on his fourteenth birthday. As the next ball shot out of the machine, he focused on the forehand looping form he had practiced for many years but couldn’t quite get right. He bent his back forwards, lowered his right arm, shifted his weight from right to left while generating power from his waist, and finally, he whipped his arm into a salute to propel the ball forward with speed and spin, but not precision.

From the perspective of the untrained eye, he would be doing nothing but absent-mindedly smashing the ball as if he were playing tennis. Well, that perspective would be wrong. In actuality, this was a practiced stroke, one that required many hours of practice to perfect. Indisputably, those numerous hours spent proved Anthony’s love for table tennis.

When Anthony was in Kindergarten, he had said that he wanted to become a professional table tennis player when he grew up. But as he grew older, his dreams were crushed by developing pessimism and pragmatism. Anthony had much passion for table tennis, but he had a negative mindset, and he never thought that he would be able to achieve his dreams.

Right now, Anthony was having fun practicing table tennis. But he thought, with his rational mind, that he should be doing something more productive as he would never come close to even becoming a professional. With a sigh, Anthony decided that he had practiced enough and should go upstairs to do some homework or, even better, play Minecraft. But, all of a sudden, Anthony heard some excited footsteps bounding down the stairs to the basement. He knew at once that his mother was coming.

“Hi, Mom,” said Anthony. “What are you so excited about?”

“I know how much you love ping pong,” replied Mom. “There are only a few spots left at the Bridgeport Ping-Pong club. You should go for lessons once a week.”

“Nahh, I don’t think I should join,” sighed Anthony. “I have too much homework, and I’m too busy. I’m also probably not good enough.” As he said this, Anthony wondered precisely why he declined to join the club. 

“I really don’t have enough time,” thought Anthony in a desperate attempt to justify his decision. “I should keep table tennis as a hobby.”

But deep down, Anthony knew he had lots of free time and could probably allot enough time for lessons. However, he was too lazy to do anything productive and also too pessimistic to have enough faith in himself. He thought that if he failed, he would be humiliated in front of all the pros at the club.

“Alright then, if you change your mind, tell me as soon as possible so I can try to book a spot for you.” Mom promptly turned around and walked back upstairs to continue with her work.

Anthony then began cleaning up the room and swept all the loose ping-pong balls into a small bucket. After finishing this task, he promptly walked back upstairs and ran into the family room to play some Minecraft. But as he reached the family room, he felt a weird sort of fatigue, with a slight touch of dizziness and an overwhelming urge to fall asleep on the spot. He had previously wanted to play some Minecraft and also get some late-night snacks while he was playing. However, at this moment, he wasn’t sure if he could do anything other than sleep. This sudden feeling of fatigue was truly peculiar since, just mere minutes before, he had felt remarkably energetic about playing Minecraft. It was almost as if an unknown force was compelling him to his bed and blanket.

“I guess I should go to bed,” thought Anthony. “I can always continue my Minecraft progress later.”

When Anthony stumbled up the stairs and into his bed, he could barely feel his body. His eyes were involuntarily closing, and it felt like he required all the mental focus in the world just to keep himself from tripping down the stairs and falling flat on his face onto the cold, hard stairs. Somehow, Anthony managed to make it into his room safely and quickly tumbled into his bed. However, for some unknown reason, he couldn’t fall asleep, no matter how hard he tried. Anthony closed his eyes tightly and waited for many long minutes, but still couldn’t fall asleep. He even tried counting sheep, imagining adorable, fluffy, white sheep prancing over fences one by one. Although this made Anthony feel more relaxed, this strategy ultimately failed as Anthony still seemingly couldn’t achieve the slumber he had wanted so desperately.

But then, when he opened his eyes, he saw a pig. It looked like an average, happy swine with a flat snout, small eyes, large ears, and an endearing little grin. However, this one looked somewhat different, most notably because it floated in the air with little angel wings while staring straight into Anthony's soul.

“I must be dreaming,” thought Anthony as he blinked twice and closed his eyes for ten seconds. But in spite of that, when he opened his eyes, the pig was still there, staring intently into his soul.

“Salutations Anthony,” the pig suddenly said. “My name is Bacon, and I’m here to help you.”

“I must really be dreaming,” thought Anthony. “It speaks!” 

Suddenly, the pig clapped his hooves together three times, and the two of them disappeared from Anthony’s room and instantaneously reappeared in a different place. It was very bright, in contrast to the darkness of Anthony’s room, and Anthony’s eyes had to get used to the new lighting. He closed his eyes shut for a couple of seconds, and when he opened them back up, he realized that he and Bacon were standing in an office of some sort. All around him, he heard the clicking and clacking of keyboard keys in different rooms, and he saw a desk with a computer, a warm cup of coffee, and a small, withering plant on the verge of death. Anthony was about to peek his head out of the office and look around, but without warning, he heard faint footsteps heading toward the office. 

Anthony asked Bacon for advice, “What do we do? Should we hide?”

“We don’t have to,” answered Bacon. “No one can see us. Just focus and observe the scene and tell me what you see.”

The footsteps were now much louder as they came closer, and a man entered the office. He tiredly plopped himself onto his office chair, and he let out a loud sigh as he opened up his computer to work. He then wearily took a sip out of his cup of coffee and started filling out some spreadsheets as quickly as possible while nervously glancing up at the clock every couple of seconds. Evidently, this man did not enjoy his job.

“Who’s that guy?” queried Anthony. “He doesn’t seem happy.”

“That’s a possible future version of you,” answered Bacon. “You know you are lazy, and you refuse to take risks even if you know they may benefit you in the future. You are afraid of failure, and you are too pessimistic for your own good. This future version of you embodies that. He didn’t work hard, and because he was afraid of failure, he never took any risks.”

“I don’t care if I become sad or bored,” said Anthony. “At least that future me is making some money.”

“I beg to differ,” replied Bacon. “He isn’t making that much in this job. He’s literally living in his mother’s basement. At least he’s surviving.”

“That’s all I need, right?” said Anthony. “ I just have to survive, and I don’t need to do anything special. I can just wait 'til retirement.”

“I don’t think that’s what you really want,” answered Bacon. “Just wait and see.” 

Anthony reflected on this future version of himself and wondered if he really meant what he had said to Bacon. Did he really only need to survive? Did he really want to end up like this future version of himself?

But before he could continue his deep reflection, he heard the clapping of hooves, and the two of them disappeared and reappeared once more.

This time, they reappeared at an Olympic table tennis event full of crowds, cameras, and reporters. At the center of the event were a ping-pong table and two athletes taking a break to talk with their coaches.

“The athlete down one point - with the red shirt - is another future version of you,” said Bacon. “He is currently ranked second in the world and is representing Canada in the Olympic Games. He is playing an opponent from China. If he manages to win this game, he will be ranked number one. Please reflect on this other version of yourself. I’m sure that seeing him will help you.”

Anthony could already see huge differences between the two future versions of himself that Bacon was showing him. This champion version of himself was at the peak of human physical perfection while the other version was sitting at the office growing older while eating bowl noodles and sipping on cups of coffee for energy. This champion version also had fire and passion in his eyes, and he absolutely loved his job. In contrast, the other version of himself was filled with fatigue and boredom, and he obviously disliked his job. 

Although Bacon had told Anthony to reflect on the champion version of himself, Anthony’s mind could not help but focus on the ping-pong game as the break had ended and the two athletes returned to the table.

The score was 10 - 9. It was the match point for the other player, and it was Future Anthony’s serve. He threw it tremendously high and hit it with otherworldly spin and speed. Anthony watched as the white table tennis ball spun towards the opponent. He felt the immense focus from both parties, and the game had officially started. 

The opponent countered the backspin from the serve with heavy topspin. Anthony watched in awe as the future version of himself countered the topspin with a powerful strike toward his opponent’s backhand side. His opponent, already knowing what was going to happen, prepared himself with quick footwork and looped the ball back at Future Anthony, who was anticipating this. He blocked his opponent's shot and directed all the force onto the opposite side of the table. His opponent dove in a desperate attempt to hit the ball, and he was not successful. 

The score was now 10 - 10, and Future Anthony had achieved a deuce. Both opponents now had an equal chance of winning, and the Olympic medal could go either way. However, Future Anthony still had the advantage of the serve. He again tossed the ball tremendously high and used a deceptive topspin serve disguised as a backspin one. He hoped with all his heart that his opponent would be fooled, but he was dismayed. His opponent had read his serve like a book and quickly countered the spin with a powerful loop toward his unprepared backhand side.

In the audience, Anthony watched as this future version of himself dived to get the ball. Everyone thought Future Anthony would not be able to receive the ball as it was too far away. But right before the ball touched the floor, Anthony’s dive intercepted it, and his paddle hit the ball right onto the edge of the net, where it barely rolled over. This was impossible for his opponent to receive, but this was merely a lucky shot and not one that required skill.

The score was now 11 - 10 in favour of Future Anthony. However, the serving advantage now went to the opponent, who was well-known to be exceptionally good at his serves. He tossed the ball equally as high as Future Anthony and dished out an incredible backspin serve that made the ball almost bounce back into the net. Anthony watched as this future version of himself reached forward and barely got the ball over the net. The game then turned into a powerful forehand rally initiated by the opponent. Anthony realized that the winner would be the one who ultimately had a more consistent and better form.

As the game progressed into the tenth straight rally, Anthony recognized something. He saw that the future version of himself bent his back forwards, lowered his right arm, shifted his weight from right to left while generating power from his waist, and finally, he whipped his arm into a salute to propel the ball forward with speed, spin, and precision. Anthony was surprised, as this future version of himself perfectly executed the looping form with inhuman precision. Anthony had always believed that his looping form would always lack precision no matter how much he practiced. However, this future version of himself somehow managed to achieve it and was demonstrating it right in front of his eyes.

On the fifteenth straight rally, the opponent finally messed up. After all, he was still human, and the ball was moving at lightning speeds back and forth. After shaking hands with his opponent, Future Anthony took a huge sip of water and sat down. He had managed to win the game, and the Canadian members of the crowd were cheering his name and hoisting up posters in admiration.

Anthony looked at his future self in awe and admiration, but suddenly, he heard the loud clapping of pig hooves once again, and he was teleported back to his room. 

Anthony was back in his familiar, dark room, wondering if he had just woken up from a dream. But then, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of his room, he saw Bacon sitting at the side of his bed. 

“Anthony, if you truly want to be able to fulfill the meaning of your life, you can’t be lazy or afraid of failure,” said Bacon. “Many people fail in life because of these two bad qualities.”

“I truly want to fulfill the meaning of my life,” answered Anthony. “But I don’t think I can become a professional table tennis player like the Future version of myself that I encountered. The skill level between us is just too large. You have to understand that some things are simply impossible.”

“Are you sure?” asked Bacon. “Maybe they are impossible because you are making them impossible with your pessimism and laziness. Sometimes, you just have to try your best, even if you fail. If you at least try, there is a chance that you will be able to achieve the seemingly impossible with your hard work. On the other hand, if you don’t even try, there will be a zero percent chance that you will achieve anything. Anyways, I ought to leave you to your reflection. If you ever need me again, I will be there for you.”

Bacon then clapped his hooves together two times and disappeared from Anthony’s room as if he had never been there.

The next morning, while still in bed, Anthony reflected on his two future versions as well as Bacon’s wise words. He thought about the future version of himself who worked in an office, filling out spreadsheets day after day for minimal pay. As Bacon said, this future version of himself did not work hard and never took any risks because of his fear of failure. As well, this version of himself obviously lacked passion and looked extremely bored and perpetually tired. He also did nothing to exercise and became more unhealthy over time. On the other hand, the future version of himself, who was a ping-pong champion, was at the peak of human physical perfection. Although he worked very hard, took many risks, and failed many times before achieving success, he had extreme passion and love for his job. 

Anthony had determined that he wanted to be like the future ping-pong champion version of himself rather than the future office worker version. Although this seemed impossible, he could try putting Bacon’s words into effect. Maybe he could try his best, even if he failed miserably. As Bacon had said, if he at least tried his best, there would be a chance that he would be able to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Anthony then awoke with a newfound light in his eyes and a different perspective instilled in him by an optimistic pig. 

The very moment his alarm rang at 7:30, he threw off his blanket and ran downstairs, where Mom was making breakfast for everyone in his family. 

“Why are you in such a hurry?” asked Mom. “You normally sleep 'til eight o’clock.”

“Well, I’ve changed my mind about the Ping Pong thing,” said Anthony. “I’ve decided that I could learn a thing or two from it, and I should try it anyway since I have the time. I’ll just watch less YouTube and do more homework.”

“I knew that you would change your mind,” said Mom, “but the club at Bridgeport has already been fully booked. You should have told me earlier.”

“That’s okay,” said Anthony. “I can also apply to the Vancouver Table Tennis Club or the Greater Vancouver Table Tennis Club. The drive isn’t too far, and I can always see if I can join their clubs for lessons.”

“I’m curious,” laughed Mom. “Where on earth did you get your positive attitude? You’ve never had that before.”

“Well, it’s a long story,” responded Anthony. “But I think it all started with a talking pig.”