| | The title seems a bit odd because one might think that the opposite of success is failure. To the contrary, I've come to a point in my life where my own experiences and the experiences of others has convinced me that the polar opposite is to quit. As they say, despair will crush you far worse than defeat ever could.
I think this is particularly relevant to fitness and the pursuit of physical excellence, but it applies to any endeavor that requires motivation and is pitted with the competitive desires of other people to achieve a goal that only a limited few can attain. As I noted in my pre-birthday blues entry, I always thought of my life's great failures as distractions to a greater success. I've come to believe that meaningful achievement is punctuated with hard work, dedication, self-awareness, and a sense of renewed effort that can only be brought about my failure.
I actually kind of look down on people who have drifted through life without ever knowing the bitter sting of failure, whose lives have been defined by their successes. To me, that speaks of a life without challenges and a person who eventually holds on to that fleeting sense of success so tightly that they become too afraid to push themselves. The power to change yourself only comes with abject honesty and a burning desire to improve. And anyways, talent is a dime a dozen these days. Wasted potential is a cliche. Everyone gets too little sleep, they're hurt all the time, and eventually we'll all die. What makes you so special.
This is why I love sports like tennis and running. When you get to a certain level, you realize that the people who say "I could have won, if only I wanted to try" or similar excuses are the real losers. There's no shame in saying "I tried my best and he beat me" nor anything wrong with asking yourself "what can I do better next time". That's where running comes in. During my workouts of the day, you have no idea how many times my mind begs me to quit, to stop short because nobody would ever know if I cheated or not. There's a real humility in facing that and realizing that I am not quite as good as I thought I was.
I've noticed as I climb through life that I find myself with more and more doubts. When I ask myself what's the worst that could ever happen, there is a fearful part of me that says "I may fall short of expectations. I may not be who I pretend to others. My perception of self may be proven very, very wrong." It's kind of pathetic that my courageous part replies "When did you start caring what other people thought of you. Anyways, most people's opinions of you are already negative. Any change is bound to be better." But the real tragedy is losing that sense of fun, that passion for learning a new skill and trying it out against a person who is equally passionate.
Anyways, what I'm advocating here is risk. It's stupid to say move beyond success and failure because most endeavors still measure themselves on that scale, particularly sports. Not everybody is a winner but neither do losers stay that way. Don't be afraid of failure...or success. Learn something new. Try something different. Test yourself and confront your true capabilities. You won't like some of what you find, maybe even a lot of what you find out about yourself. But face your flaws and let them push you further than you ever thought you could go.
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| | Posted 5/15/2008 1:50 AM - 34 Views - 4 eProps - 3 comments
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