Michael Jordan once said "I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." Jordan is an iconic NBA basketball player. Absolutely everyone in the United States knows who he is. Even he, who some may say is the greatest basketball player to have ever, can be a failure. He did not always make every shot he put up. He failed his team, his coach, and his family multiple times. I'm not trying to tell you that he was not a good player. I'm trying to tell you that he failed too. Just like you and I do every day of our lives. Failure is a normal occurance in life. Failure just happens.
"In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without a total 100 percent dedication, you won't be able to do this." This quote came from the legendary baseball player, Willie Mays. Mays was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979. Mark Field says that he is "the best who ever played the game." Although Mays was a huge success, he knew that he must be able to take the criticism that he got from his coaches. He knew he was going to fail every so often, and he accepted that. He took the failure as something constructive, something that was going to help him better his game. He hit his failure out of the park, by learning to overcome it and say, failure just happens.
"I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable and I am the only person to blame," Tiger Woods recently said. Woods was once the best golfer in the world. His personal life soon turned this into a statement that was no longer true. Woods was found to have cheated on his wife in 2009. Ever since then, his golf game has taken a turn for the worst. Woods in now ranked eighth in the World. Woods let his personal life affect his game, one of the worst things a golfer can do. All of this is happening but Woods is doing everything he can to overcome this failure. He is now out of his marraige with Elin Nordegren and is focusing on his golf game. He has not been playing his best but he is trying his hardest and that is all anyone can ask of him. Again, failure just happens.
This can also be said about some of the Pittsburgh Pirates players. They have learned to accept failure every year. They accept the mistakes that they have made. I think that even the owners of the pirates have learned to accept their failure, but they never seem to overcome their failures. Although failure just happens, do the people who fail always try to overcome their failure or just move on with their life and living with their failure?
ReplyDeleteVery eye-opening post! If all these successful people can fail and still be huge, then so can I! Hopefully this means that I'll rock my Algebra 2 finals!
ReplyDeleteThe quote about dedication and criticism by Willie Mays makes a lot of sense. If someone's heart isn't completely in something then they won't be able to deal with failure. People also need to be emotionally strong in order to deal with failure. If they can't accept criticism then they can't accept failure. Good quote :)
ReplyDeleteWhen people accept failure, they have realized that their failure was a mistake that they have made. People have to admit they are wrong and learn from their mistakes so they do not repeat them. This could possible be the reason how some famous people are able to succeed.
ReplyDeleteThe Willie Mays quote is a good example of reality, because if you are not dedicated to what you do, then you won't be able to go far in life. People can still fail and succeed, but it is much easier if you put dedication into what you do.
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