The Outcome That You Want Has To Be Earned
Success Is Not Owed To You
2023, Jacquline Dacres ©
I’m a huge fan of track and field. This is somewhat surprising even to me because I don’t have one athletic bone in my body.
I could tell you about the time when I fell at the only race I ever entered… a teacher’s race.But that’s for another time.
I’m in awe of the athletes and the rigorous training they put their bodies through in order to compete for their country. That’s what I call love of country.
I watched sections of the IAAF World Athletic Championship which concluded about 3 weeks ago. It was held in Budapest, Hungary.
I noticed that athletes who were favored to win didn’t always win.
There was no medal put aside for anyone. It had to be earned.
It’s easy to see the gold medal that an athlete wins and sing their praises. What we don’t see is the countless hours spent in training. That gold medal was earned with sweat, tears, and hard work.
That’s why I admire athletes so much. They dedicate their lives to their sport, train every day, push themselves to the limit, and face intense competition.
They don’t give up when things get tough, they don’t let failures stop them, and they don’t let critics discourage them. They keep going until they reach the finish line, and then they celebrate their victory with joy and gratitude.
They are not relying on luck or just talent. They are putting in the work required.
That’s why one of my favorite athletes is Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pyrce from Jamaica. At the age of 36 and the mother of a six-year-old son, she still managed a 3rd place finish in the 100m at the same event mentioned above.
She edged out competitors much younger than herself. How amazing and inspiring is that!
The event was won by Sha’Carri Richardson from the USA (in a record time) and Shericka Jackson from Jamaica came second.
This is a great lesson for all of us, no matter what we are pursuing in life. Whether it’s a career, a hobby, a relationship, or anything else, we have to work hard and overcome challenges to achieve our dreams.
Just like an athlete, we must put in the time and consistent effort to attain our desired outcomes.
The sad reality is that an athlete may put in all the required training, the required hours, the required everything, and never get a gold medal or any medal for that matter.
Thankfully, the race of life is not like that. Every one of us has talent/s and skills that we can achieve mastery in if we so choose. Let mastery of your chosen craft be your goal and your vision.
Therefore, we can all be gold medalists in our own way if we work hard for our goals. We can be proud of ourselves and our achievements when we put in the effort and don’t give up.
I don’t know how you will be running your race, but I’m planning on running a personal best.
Life is like a foot race, there will always be people who are faster than you, and there will always be those who are slower than you. What matters, in the end, is how you ran your race. — Joël Dicker