overcoming yourself

Japan has yet to win a medal in the Olympics.  Speed skating finished just now and we missed another anticipated medal.  The two skaters who had been expected to win the gold medal didn't hide their bitter feelings when interviewed.

It reminded me of what my friend asked me a couple of days ago:  Why do you value hard work?  Why do you have to be the best?  Why can't you be happy with what you already have?

Now, I personally think I've changed over the past year; I have found some happiness, and I don't feel like I need to be the best.  I guess, however, that my competitive nature will never change, and obviously, it still shows.  To me, it sounded like my friend was trying to tell me that it was foolish to seek happiness in hard work and its expected results.  It's ridiculous to compare yourself with others; useless battles just wear you out.

So are all athletes in Sochi fools?

I don't think so.  It's simply amazing that all these athletes have trained every single day for more than four years for a single race that's over in a matter of seconds or hours.  It's impossible to imagine how hard it is to accept a disappointing result.  But at the same time, it's also impossible to imagine how great it is when they win what they want.

I don't think it's just about competing with others.  It's not a "useless battle".  It's a battle against your other self - your weaker self - and overcoming it through competition.  It's about proving something to the world, but more to yourself: that you can do it; that life's worth living.

Finding happiness in small things - fine weather, the smell of a new shampoo, a smile from a stranger - does make your life better.  After all, efforts sometimes never pay off; these small things may be the only things that could make you happy if anything can.  But hard work and overcoming weakness can probably give you what fine weather can never give.  That's for sure.  That's why so many atheletes dedicate their lives to the Olympics.  And that's why their efforts are often moving, giving us courage to believe in ourselves.