We as humans have always defined failure as an obstacle or hurdle blocking a path. When you picture a hurdle, you think of the easiest way to avoid it. When you picture an obstacle, you think of the quickest way to maneuver around it. What if hurdles were meant to be broken, not jumped over? What if obstacles were meant to be faced head on, not gone around? Growing up, I had a poster in my room that said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”-Winston Churchill. Not understanding how failure was not fatal, or how you could gain courage through failure, failure’s purpose had always pondered my mind. Being a competitive swimmer my life revolved around this idea that there was no room for failure; failure was not an option. Losing to your rival, not winning a race, or not achieving a season’s goal were all failures that I inevitably feared. It was merely a few months ago, where a major obstacle in my swimming career…show more content… My coach walked over to the blocks before my race and said, “it’s your time.” At that moment, I remembered all the blood, sweat, and tears that had gone into every minute of training. Fighting fear, I said to myself, “this was my time.” I dove into the water and felt a rush of cold water consume my body. Not following my race plan that I knew like the back of my hand, I went out irresponsibly fast. Not having a care in the world, little did I know I would suffer for my actions in the end. Passing the competitors, the confidence inside me began to grow into overconfidence. Turning for home, a sudden sharp pain began to pierce my stomach. The last lap felt like swimming in an endless pool, the kick behind my legs began to fade and my arms felt like wooden logs. Was this Karma for my irresponsibility? Ironically, I touched the wall and saw the first place next to my
