There’s been quite a flap over the Canadian women’s soccer team and their loss to the US in the Olympic semi-final. “They were robbed!” “The ref had it in for them.” “The game was rigged.”
And even now that the women have won their bronze medal, it’s “that bronze should have been gold.”
I understand all the rants, but first things first – CONGRATULATIONS to the team on their win!! You put in great effort, you’ve triumphed in a sport that we’re not normally known for, you are gold in the hearts of Canadians!
You also make me think about what it means to succeed or fail in life.
Is success defined only by winning? Isn’t it a success just to be in the game, and give it your best? (Just don’t try saying that to a fan in mid-rant!)
Not long ago, I heard motivational speaker Tony Robbins define success in two ways:
(1) really going for something, whether it’s a sport or in business or some other area of life, and
(2) learning from it.
So if I work hard at learning to drive and fail my driver test (true story), I’m still a success if I learn from that (and thankfully I did pass the second time). And I suppose that Tony Robbins would also say that if I work hard to pass my college math but fail the final, I’m still a success if I learn I’m not a mathematician and switch to English.
Is that a good definition of success? Or is that just fooling myself? What does success look like to you?
Writing/Reflection Prompt: What does success look like to you?
_____________________
For more on everyday acts of faith,
sign up here for free email updates and receive
a copy of How to Pray When Prayer Seems Impossible
April Yamasaki 
Years ago I was talked into giving Sunday-School teaching a try.
Let’s just say that I’m sorry for the kids that were in my class for the not quite 3 months I tried. 🙂
Interesting point to ponder; the definition of success. I don’t begin to know how to define it, but I do know that to be successful you have to be true to yourself in doing/being all you can be. Not everything in life will work out as we planned, but if we truly tried our best (without fooling ourselves), then I would say that we are a success in that we tried with everything we have. But success could also include how we bring in others for assistance, and how we learn from failures. On a lighter side, a quote I ask my college students each semester to ponder is: “If I try to fail and succeed, which have I done?” I believe there is a lot of wisdom in that statement.
haha Waltrude–I wonder though if the kids might have had a better experience than you did! I remember preaching one Sunday and seeing a youth with his head down looking half asleep, but in the foyer afterward he asked me a question that showed he had been listening after all and was already trying to apply the message to his life. God is good!
Thank you lifesjourneyblog – yes there is wisdom–and mystery!– in your statement. Also, God’s power (i.e., God’s success) is made perfect in weakness (i.e., my failure) – 2 Corinthians 12:9.