"...For I consider the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us." - Romans 8:18 AMP
"Even in defeat, the seeds of future greatness can be sown." - Phil Rizzuto
It is said that everybody loves a winner. It sure does seem that way, what with all the large crowds that gather to celebrate whenever a team wins a championship. It's wall to wall adulation and adoration, hero worship to the nth degree.
There is no disputing the notion that winning is popular. Everybody wants to be a winner, or at least to be seen with one, hoping that the magic formula of the champion, or their "pixie dust," will somehow rub off on them, so they can experience that winning feeling, too. Many people believe the path to victory is some sort of gleaming Yellow Brick Road where everything comes up roses, successful people have the Midas Touch (everything they do turns to gold), where there are never any problems, because by all appearances winners seem to live on Easy Street every second of every day of their lives. The truth of the matter, however, tells quite a different story.
If you have ever attended a sporting event, a concert, a movie or a live theater performance, you were awed by the precision and skill of the athletes or performers. The level of excellence with which they apply their skills seems so high as to be almost otherworldly, from a realm far above our own. You may have heard someone say of them, or you may have said yourself, "They make what they do look so easy."
What we often don't realize when we see them perform is that a finished product stands before us, but not the process which helped them reach such a high level. We think they look confident and fearless; they probably do. But we don't see the moments of fear and self-doubt they conquered along the way. Yes, they have well wishers, fans by the thousands, maybe even the millions, but we don't know how many times they had to overcome countless rejections, along with the nagging sense of dread which threatened to creep into their hearts and minds, the dread which tried to convince them that they were wasting their time, this would never work, no one would ever recognize, accept, or even appreciate their unique talents and gifts.
Add to that all the critics, doubters, and naysayers who relentlessly predicted failure for them of the "crash and burn" variety, many of whom were people close to them, perhaps people they loved and respected from childhood, people they counted on for support who repeatedly let them down...and maybe you begin to get a fraction of a sense of the hard work they had to do as they overcame obstacles, inwardly and outwardly, to achieve their goals, and to become the finished product which you have been privileged to witness. Maybe you can comprehend in some small way the process which led to the awe-inspiring finished product you were able to see.
From such examples we can learn an important lesson: the pain of your setbacks does not have to stop you, unless you allow it. Pain is the price you pay for moving up to your next level of greatness. If you can overcome this pain, you will find it is neither perpetual, nor permanent. It doesn't matter what kind of setback you've endured, whether a defeat in athletics, a failed grade or course in school, a business reversal, a job loss, a rejection of a proposal or idea, even a failed relationship or marriage...instead of letting the pain of that defeat leave you dejected, in despair, even heartbroken, the ache of that failure can be the fuel in the rocket that launches you to your next success, your biggest breakthrough.
"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." - Babe Ruth
It is said to be true in many fields, but especially in sports, that the fuel which often ignites a team to rise to become champions is the painful memory of falling short of that goal the year before. The road to the title begins in the wake of defeat, when they pick up the pieces of their shattered dream. Instead of giving up, they geared up, girded up, got up, and got going. The going got tough and they did, too.
Take heart, and be of good courage. Your setback is not the end, Jack. Instead of letting that rejection or shortfall be the death knell that signals a dead end, the anchor that drags your dreams down to the depths where none hope to return, use that pain as power to propel you forward, to launch you in the direction of your dream, rather than pull you back.
Resist that rejection, persist in your efforts, and don't be surprised to learn, the day you stand in the winner's circle, clutching your prize, that the accomplishment you once thought out of reach will have the sweetest taste because of the path you traveled to achieve it.
When beating that pain becomes your prize,
Your life most assuredly will arise...
To the healing of your heart...
Read and be blessed, not stressed...
Bye for now!
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