Dale Carnegie: Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
H. Stanley Judd: Don't be afraid to fail. Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It's OK to fail. If you're not failing, you're not growing.
The last 2 softball practices this week have been tough. My hitting is off and I feel like I am not doing my best in the field. Tonight I was hitting all night and I just wasn't like I usually am. I was behind the ball and I was pulling away with my swing. I was getting so frustrated and I felt like I just wanted to quit, and leave right then. Thankfully, through God's strength I made it through practice. But when I was in the car I was still angry. Why all of the sudden my hitting has gone downhill? Is this a sign that I shouldn't be here playing this sport that I do love anymore? I legitimately stunk out there the past 2 nights, honestly!? I decided to shut everything out and just pray for a little while and listen to some inspirational music. Suddenly, I started to think of the quote from Mia Hamm that I knew off the top of my head. “Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it.” That is when I knew my attitude needed to change. I know softball isn't going to be easy as pie every time I play and I need to understand that I am going to fail sometimes but I cant give up! I need to keep praying that God will give me the strength everyday, but not to let my will be done, but his. I do believe that failure comes before success, but only if you have the right attitude.
Maybe your poor games the last two nights are not for your growth but for the growth of someone on your team. Maybe people feel intimidated by you and your natural skill and someone needed to be reminded that even amazing athletes have off days, just like you needed to be reminded that Mia Hamm has bad days? You will never know who this person is, but just know that God put so many people on this earth to help grow each other. Sometimes your failure teaches someone else something crucial.
ReplyDelete