Page 10 - Kindness - No Forward

Feel Good About Yourself

Bill Johnson was a downhill skier who made it to the Olympics in 1984. He
was good, of course, but not considered to have a real chance. In fact,
other skiers mocked his form and style. And, when it was time to begin the
final run, Bill was in fourth place.

As he prepared to go down the slope, at what was quite possibly the most
important moment of his life, he turned to his coach and said “I hope all the
great skiers in the world are watching me right now.”

And then he won the gold by 1/100th of a second. Not ONE second. Not
th
th
1/10 of a second. A mere 1/100 of a second was the difference on the
clock that gave him the Gold Medal.

But the real difference was inside: the way he felt about himself, his
feelings of self-respect and dignity.

Take the Challenge

How do we feel when we’re faced with difficult challenges? Do we feel the
confidence to perform as if the best in the world were watching us at that
moment? Do we perform as we would if our children were viewing our
performance?

Or do we shudder to face life’s difficult assignments and cling to the hope
that we’ll have smooth sailing for long periods of time?

Too many of us live just that way- hoping to avoid life’s challenges and
opportunities, just so we can avoid the potential hurdles, obstacles, and
failures that inevitably occur when we take the field.

No one is successful all the time. It is only through our failures that we can
appreciate our successes. And only through attempts that we can
experience failure, the greatest teacher.

Don’t be so afraid to fail as to be afraid to try.

When I was in high school, I dreamed of playing major league baseball. I
was a poor fielder, which was not offset by my performance as a lousy
hitter.

So, armed with a tremendous amount of “fear of failing so as not to look
more dorky than I already did”, I didn’t try out for the high school team.