The Courage to Try

This is a blog post from Dean Karnazes, who is an ultramarathoner. He has completed 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Whether you like him or not, he is a very accomplished runner, who has done many extremely impressive feats during his running career.

"For those of you who followed the Gabby Awards last week, I was fortunate to win. It was a glorious victory shared with my family, in a spectacular theater, during a grand white tie event telecast live. I was on top of the world.
Today, I am on the bottom. In an attempt to complete my 12th Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, I failed spectacularly. Surrounded by family and friends, I completely blew up and dropped out at mile 62. I had sacrificed so much, as had my family, and here I now sit in defeated ruin, wrecked and destroyed.
What constitutes a life worth living? Is it high achievement? What I’ve come to believe is that more than anything, it’s having the courage to try. Perhaps no one has stated this more eloquently than Theodore Roosevelt when he wrote:
“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 man 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 not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
May you strive for greatness, may you set your sights on the stars, but more than anything, may you always have the courage to try.
Battered but not beaten,Dean
P.S. If you have any stories of great victories, or stupendous failures, please do share by leaving your comments below. Right now, I could definitely use some consoling to lift my spirits."

We all have bad days..... Not sure what will happen on Sunday, but one thing is for sure... I will try, and no matter what the results are, I will continue to have the courage to try harder as long as God gives me the strength to do so.