Perseverance

"Victory belongs to the most persevering."-Napoleon Bonaparte

The definition of perseverance is: the action or condition or an instance of persevering OR steadfastness. Persevering. Just as we all look to be inspired in life there will also come a time when we all must persevere. You simply won't get though life without being able to accomplish this task. We will all see struggles and if we want to live a full and enjoyable life we have to be able to get back up and continue to push forward. In the world today we will often see stories of perseverance. Some are just simple acts while others can give you chills to think about. Here is a list of some of the most persevering athletes in sports.

Michael Jordan-missed more than 9000 shots, lost almost 300 games, and 26 times he was trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. But yet we remember Michael Jordan for all of his game winning shots, championships, and unbelievable plays. He knew failure was a part of the game and he used that to help him succeed. He persevered.

Brett Favre- He has started 269 consecutive games (291 including playoffs). Through his career he has suffered concussions, ankle, shoulder, elbow, finger, and knee injuries, just to name a few. Yet Favre found a way every week to put the pads back on and head out onto the field for another game. He persevered.

Cal Ripken Jr.- During his career the "Iron Man" started 2,632 consecutive games. He started every game of his career from May 1982 to September 1998. For 16 years he never took a day off. At one point in his career, when he was in a slump, the media ridiculed him for not taking a day off. They said he was being selfish and thinking only of the streak record. Cal continued to put on his spikes every day and show up. He came out of his slump and the media talk about selfishness ended. He persevered.

Tiger Woods- In 2008 he played and won 91 holes of the U.S. Open on a torn ACL and two fractures in his tibia. After every shot and every movement the pain was evident in his face. Yet, defying doctors orders, he found a way to take Rocco Mediate to a sudden death, and win. He persevered.
Lance Armstong- In 1996 he survived testicular cancer, a germ cell tumor that metastasized to his brain and lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was originally poor. Yet he went on to win 7 consecutive Tour de Frances from 1999 to 2005. What else can ya say? He persevered.
Derek Redmond- This Great Britain runner was in the best shape of his life heading into the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He was a true threat to win a gold medal. But he tore his hamstring in the 400 meters semi-final. Yet somehow he found a way to fight through the pain and, with assistance from his father(who left his seat in the stands and ran down on the track), managed to complete a full lap of the track as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. He finished dead last. But...he finished. Hobbling, walking, crying, and screaming in pain. He persevered.

All of these men found a way to push through and finish the things they had set out to do. Will we fail? Of course. But it is through our failures that we truly learn how to succeed. Without the taste of defeat victory is not near as sweet. We must learn to pick ourselves back up, dust ourselves off, and make the best of the situation given to us. We can't let the fact that we have failed before scare us out of taking the risk to do or to be something great. Persevere....and you just might inspire someone else to do the same.

Here is a video of Derek Redmond in the 1992 Olympics.