And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest that my heart will lie peaceful and
calm when I’m laid to my rest. The Impossible Dream
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person
who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who
strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort
without error and shortcomings, who knows the great devotion, who spends himself in a
worthy cause, who at best knows in the end the high achievement of triumph and who at
worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows his place shall never be with those timid and
cold souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt
There are four important lessons here:
- The only way to live a life of joy and vitality is to live a life of self-transcendence; a
life dedicated to the pursuit of something greater than oneself, a cause. On the other
hand, a life of self-absorption, a life motivated mainly by self-interest and ego where
one’s personal happiness and success is the “cause” ultimately leads to depression and
loss of vitality. - The ultimate failure in life is to be wrapped up in one’s needs and one’s success, never
striving towards something greater than oneself, never achieving self-transcendence. - When one’s focus shifts from me to something greater than me, one is liberated from
the tyranny of failure. Failing is no longer experienced as catastrophic. When one’s
personal success and happiness is the focus of life, failure is always threatening and often
catastrophic. When striving for something greater than oneself, failure is embraced as a
necessary part of the process. Failure does not threaten one’s self-worth because failure
is seen as a necessary consequence of being an imperfect person striving for something
great. The tyranny of personal success and failure vanishes along with the plague of
perfectionism. - There are many people who profess to be involved in a great endeavor but who are in
truth motivated by ego, personal achievement and success. You can fool others, but you
can’t fool yourself. One must be extremely honest in order to avoid the trap of becoming
a self-absorbed and ego driven person.