Did you know that failure is nothing more than delayed success? That’s right! As long as you keep trying, refuse to give up and tenaciously keep on, keeping on, your “failures” will ultimately lead you to success!
This refusal to quit, to give in to frustration and discouragement is what often separates those who succeed from all those who fail.
Nothing worth doing, and I mean really worth doing, can be accomplished without a healthy dose of discouragement, disappointment and frustration. These emotions are the dues that you must pay in order to achieve success. In a funny way, these “feelings of failure” actually lead you to success….just as long as you persist through them and refuse to quit.
I know an Olympic Gold medal swimmer who “quit” 8 times during what many called her “extremely futile” quest to make the Olympic team and possibly medal. She would end a practice in tears, so frustrated and discouraged, and so full of self-doubts from having just failed that she vowed to herself, ‘This is it! I’m done! I’ll never be able to do this! I QUIT!”
And the very next day she’d be right back at it, working twice as hard and refusing to give in to yesterday’s discouragement. Her “quitting” lasted only as long as the time in between her practices and NEVER during them. Her persistence, refusal to listen to all of the doubters and her tremendous work ethic finally paid off. She qualified for the US team in 1996 and came home with a gold medal hung around her neck!
You may not be as strong as everyone else. You may not have the physical gifts of speed, strength and talent that others possibly possess. You may not have the great training opportunities of everyone else. It may take you twice as long. But if you consistently work your butt off, refuse to cut corners or cheat, and quickly pick yourself up each and every time you fall flat on your face, then eventually you just may get to where you want to go.
Your work ethic and determination are the engine and fuel that will get you there.
Watch this tenacity demonstrated in this interesting video clip of Chris Sharma climbing Es Pontas in Spain.
