Like you and the rest of the world, I found myself yawning and craving a big ole nap each day last week. The Olympics have come and gone, but the bags under my eyes serve as a happy reminder of the late nights I spent tuning in to see the possibility we hold within us. I say ‘we’ because, of course you and I could do that! Just give us a little time, and we could be superheroes too! …I think we watch the games in hopes that we’ll catch a glimpse of ourselves somewhere. That’s why we can’t turn it off. We’re afraid we’ll miss it.
Last Tuesday, I had a quick layover in Atlanta on my way home to Nashville. Running to my gate, I passed three monstrous guys in matching running suits with the Olympic rings on them. I don’t know who they are or what they played, but they sure looked like Olympians to me. Since then, I can’t stop thinking about them. They were probably on their way home from London. I wonder where home is for them. I wonder who was waiting at the gate.
I wonder if they’re disappointed.
Did you know that 10,500 athletes competed in the Olympics? Ten thousand five hundred of the greatest athletes in the world. But there were only 602 medals given out. That means about ten thousand people went home empty handed. I’m sure somebody is disappointed, and I can’t stop thinking about them.
Imagine giving years (maybe even a decade) of your life in preparation for a single moment. The long days – relentless training – laying down all the great things about a ‘normal’ life for the chance that you might do something extraordinary. Your moment comes. Whitney’s singing “One Moment In Time” in your head. Years of your life and work are on display for the world to see. You give the very best you’ve got…
But you come up short.
Someone is better. Maybe just 3 people – or maybe you come in dead last – but someone is better. After all your preparation and previous success, in the moment that counts, you don’t have what it takes.
What do you do when your very best is still not good enough?
Usually when we think of someone failing, we conjure up a person who should be doing more. But these are the greatest of the great. How can their best not be good enough? After all that time and effort? After all those dreams and sacrifices?
Thinking about it put me in a bit of a funk. It didn’t seem fair. But then I turned it around. What if they’d won? What if they’d taken the gold? The best it gets you is some money in your pocket and your face on a Wheaties box. But the money will be spent. And the Wheaties box will end up in a trash can. In time, even the record books will bear the name of someone greater.
Tomorrow is coming, even for Michael Phelps.
The most important thing we win in victory is the passion, discipline and determination that makes us great in the first place. And when you think about it, is there a greater prize to strive for? If you’ve got the right thinking, you can become great over and over again – for the rest of your life. Everything else that poses as success is just water through a sieve. It may touch you, but you can’t keep it.
The true glory isn’t found in a hunk of medal around your neck. It’s found in becoming someone who can compete at the very highest level. Win or lose, first or last, medal or no medal, that’s the greatest prize – and it can never be taken away. You earn it in sweat and solitude long before your big moment arrives, and once it’s yours, it pays dividends for the rest of your life.
You and I won’t always win the things we strive for, even if we do all the right things. But we were made for hope. We were built to try. And through the struggle, we uncover deeper depths of ourselves. Our best becomes a stepping stone to our new best. Through the striving, the stress and strain, we’re awakened to new and better versions of ourselves.
If you’ve invested yourself in a future that won’t seem to come –
If you’ve been reaching for a goal that eludes you –
If you had your chance and took your shot, but missed –
If you’re starting over after a certain kind of failure –
Take a good look over your shoulder at the person you used to be. What do you know now that you didn’t then? Who have you become in this process that you weren’t before? What could you have learned no other way? Make a mental or physical list.
This is your glory.
This is your medal.
You earned it.
It’s yours.
And it’s the key to your future.
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Fantastic read! I am a heptathlete who fell just short of my goal of making the Olympic team this past summer. Quite disappointed. But as you say, there is so much more to be won beyond the traditional winnings, and I can hardly believe who I have become as a result of all the lactic acid, ice bath treatments, and hours spent on the track and in the field.
I’ll be doing everything I can towards making the World Championships Team next summer, but in the meantime I can hardly wait to see who I will have become by this time next week! (I have a killer hill workout on the agenda this week!!)
Thanks for your insight!
wow….that was an interesting twist that really made me think outside the (Wheaties) box. :-)
Thanks for the reminder that all things worldly are temporary.
I COMPLETELY enjoy your blogs !!!!!!! So inspiring and refreshingly honest!! Keep them coming!!!
Where do I start? “Through the struggle, we uncover deeper depths of ourselves….” I like that! As I shared before, my husband and I have been on a journey of struggles for many years. Mostly career oriented ones for him, but I’m in this with him all the way. Several job losses have been left behind, God’s provision each time has been amazing, and a recognition of the calling that God has on his life to do some area of ministry have been quite a journey. At the age of 59, he is on target to complete his bachelor’s degree by May 2013 if all the classes fall into place…August 2013 at the latest! Whoo hoo!!!! I’m so proud of him! Yet, here we go once again….He was given 90-day notice by his present employer just a few days ago to double sales or “bye-bye.” The economy has taken its toll on this company, so we were not at all surprised by the news. Neither of us feels any sense of defeat in this, knowing full well that there could be a season of unemployment again; however, we have set our course and look forward to the prize at the finish line. We have learned and grown in our faith with each experience and there have been excellent opportunities in each experience and we look forward to more opportunities in the race before us. Actually, it just confirms that God is preparing him for something great! So, we anticipate the future with great hope. Thanks for posting, Chance. I almost hate to admit that I only caught a small portion of the Olympics this year, but you were right on target once again!
Chance, once again it is as if you are reading my mind…or my mail. The Olympics are a family tradition for us…sitting there, muscles taut, holding our breaths until the gymnasts complete one more exercise or the sprinters cross the finish line or the team finishes one more game…. The Olympics exhaust me and I love them! And I had the pleasure this year of sitting with my 7-year-old son and watching and listening as he tried to determine what sport he might take up and become an Olympic athlete. And maybe he will.
I am in the process of starting over…again…and I appreciate your comments on hope and growth through the process. I normally find that I have drawn nearer to God through these times or He has drawn nearer to me. And I am not the same…thankfully. I need to be reminded of that sometimes.
And tonight I appreciate not only your blog but your encouraging and loving comments to your friend. Thank you for your blog and for sharing your heart. Be blessed in all you do.
You wrote exactly what I was feeling this year while I watched the Olympics…I watched appreciating all their training, dedication and perseverance and was proud of every competitor for having the courage to compete against the best of the best, and it inspires me to work hard and dream big, and aim high myself.
I am not an Olympian, but I feel like one – that didn’t medal. I feel that way a lot. And tonight, frankly I am struggling to see the bright side of the hope you say we were made for. Sometimes I think hope is a huge crock. It sets us up with big expectations and often it doesn’t pay off. But clearly I’m still drinking the Hope Kool-Aid because I’ll wake up tomorrow and probably continue training to compete in my own Olympic sport: the music business. Mostly because I’m a sucker for clunky jewelry.
I would respond differently if I didn’t know you and your heart. But hope is very much secure in you. It’s in your music – It’s in your vocation. It’s in your friendship… That said, we all have times of struggle and yours is valid.
You wrote, “Sometimes I think hope is a huge crock. It sets us up with big expectations and often it doesn’t pay off.” I don’t think you truly believe this, but if you did, I’d say you’re right, but look at the flip side. If you put hope on a shelf – if you have no hope, then why get out of bed? What’s life for? Why try if it’s all for nothing? On the other hand, if you DO lean into hope, if you DO try, chances are you’ll either get what you wanted (or something better for you).
I think you’re feeling tired of the fight, which is to be expected when you’re attempting great things. Your bottom line is one of two things. You’re either doing everything exactly right, and you need to be patient while the seeds you’re planting take root and bear fruit – OR – you’re doing it wrong and you need to change something or lots.
That’s not my opinion. It’s a law of nature. For every action, there’s an equal reaction. If you don’t like what life is handing you, take a look at your actions. If it’s not happening fast enough or in the way you’d ‘hoped’, take a look at the seed you’re planting. If you plant a good seed, it will bear fruit in time. Every single time. If you plant bad seed, you’ll get nothing. If you plant watermelon seed, don’t expect to get an orange back.
I have a friend who is always busy. He’s running and trying so hard, he’s exhausted. He feels like nothing ever connects. And in some ways, he’s right. There’s little return on his effort. But what he won’t see is that he’s investing his time and energy into the wrong things. He’s always busy, but there’s rarely FOCUS in his efforts – so his wins are few and unrelated to one another. It’s all random. His life isn’t taking shape very well and he feels like a victim. But he doesn’t see that his reckless efforts are the cause. HE is the cause.
If my hope has been deferred, I feel sorry for myself for a little while… and then I hope again. But this time, I know something I didn’t know before, and perhaps that causes me to do something differently.
Love you.
Chance
I like your reply as much as your blog! It just makes sense and I appreciate some good ole concrete reason and counsel like what you just offered, thank you and your friend for being honest- so refreshing!
Thank You Anna for saying how I feel, this blog gives me hope.
Thank You Chance. Your words re so meaningful and helpful at this time in my life.
This post is something all people should read and think about. Your words are exactly what we all need to hear when we tried our best but failed to reach what we wanted. They can help you go on and not give up after experiencing some kind of failure.