The ability to learn from one's disappointments is key to personal growth and success. Tell us about what you learned from a disappointment you experienced.
The mistakes we make help us build character and grow as individuals and even help us strive to achieve our goals, but you can't perceive a small failure in the wrong light. Nelson Mandela once said "After climbing great hills, one only finds that there are many more great hills to climb," early on in life I learned that setting goals for ones self is key to becoming successful in anything.
I began running track and field at age 10, in the bantam division. My very first race I competed in was the 400 meter run. I ran as fast as my seven year old legs would carry me but still, I lost the race. I laid on the ground and thought to my self, " I never want to run again" but losing did not sit well with me so instead of giving up on my aspirations to be a track and field athlete, I took another chance, and I set a goal. I wrote on a piece of paper, "I will go to the Junior Olympics, and place in the top 10." I visualized myself there and I made a commitment to reaching my goal. However, before I tried it again I prepared for the race. I trained off-season, and all summer. I endured hard practices and extreme weather conditions. I reinforced my drive to succeed with better training so that the next time I got on the track I would be prepared for anything. Despite endless conditioning, I failed to reach my goal the next season and did not qualify to go to the National's competition. I felt disheartened, after a year of intense training I was still unsuccessful. Unlike many, I never stopped, I continued to train harder, and longer and became faster and stronger. By age 12 I made it to Junior Olympics and Nationals for the first time, but did not place in the top 10 marks. By age 13 I competed again in both the junior Olympics and nationals and finally placed third overall.
Through running I have become dedicated, motivated, strong, and goal-oriented. Martin Luther King Jr. quoted "we must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." This applies to all aspects of life. One must accept being unsuccessful only to grow upon their losses. I will continue to grow with finite hope and with the realization that success and disappointment are only temporary, how you handle each situation, however, is infinite as well.
