"You haven't failed until you stop trying"

What is failure? Some people mistake this term to be an insult, usually made on themselves when they continually make mistakes. To me, failure, is when you give up or just make yourself believe you CAN'T do something and stop trying. Unfortunately, this attitude is possessed by many people these days because they have told themselves that they can't do something imparticular, therefore, making themselves believe that they are indeed.. failures.

Today, my awesome, wonderful, supportive mom took me to the track feild to begin training for state in high jump. I was VERY sore from yesterday, something I didn't take into consideration when I got into the car. I'm not out of shape but it's been quite a while since I've stretched that part of my back. But, I went anyway. Practicing high jump everyday would only make me stronger, I concluded in my mind. I arrived, ran a lap and completed the nessesary stretches to loosen up my muscles.

See, I'm very competitive. I strongly dislike losing AND making mistakes. I get very frustrated. Tonight, I was having the hardest time getting my back to arch and when I would finally fix this problem, another would arise. . . my feet. If my back didn't hit the bar, my feet would. Well, you can only imagine how angry this made me. So I would step back to my spot and start running making sure I did 5 steps and then 4 landing me in the nessesary spot in front of the bar so I could jump over. This is nowhere as easy as it sounds. Making mistakes only makes me frustrated and I push myself to try harder. So I would arch my back, leap over and right when I thought I had it perfect . . . Thud! The bar hit the ground and I just lay there feeling like a screw up. But circumstances like this are normally the ones that get the best of us. I could've continued to lay there and then told myself I'm a failure and then just gave up. But, the things that don't kill you only make you stronger. So, what could I have possibly gained by just getting up and leaving? Absolutely nothing. I would have never prepared myself mentally or psysically had I given up. Well, I had an Aha! moment. My attitude improved and so did my jumps. Of course, I still messed up but I wasn't expecting myself to be perfect. Talents like high jump need time and practice.

'Practice makes perfect'

So, through all this the point I'm trying to make is.. Don't give up on yourself. Calling youself a failure gives no justice to the wonderful person God created you as, and he created you in the image of him.


"But one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Phillipians 3:13-14