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Dedication’s Rewards

Some people don’t bother trying unless they are going to be the best. To me, more important than being the best is dedication and commitment to being the best that I can possibly be. Some people are born natural athletes or actors or artists or academics. Most are not. But success achieved simply through hard work can be much more rewarding.

Track is a sport that I have worked at for four years. I have never been the best. But the sport has given me so many more important things. It has taught me patience, perseverance and dedication. It has given me strength, both physical and mental. And it has shared with me the happiness of victories and the pride of knowing that I’ve done the best that I can.

I’m not a talented athlete. I’m not fast and I’m no powerful. Without these qualities, success in the sport of track and field can be very difficult. But I’ve had to overcome more than that. Surgery on my knee to repair torn cartilage could have been a great excuse for why I’m not the best. But I don’t make excuses, for I would only be lying to myself.
Ironically, knee surgery may have been one of the best things for my mind. Doctors told me I’d have a delayed start to the season. I was determined not to miss a single meet. To be ready, I worked harder than I have ever worked. And as my leg got stronger, so grew my determination.

My determination has never been to be better than everyone else. It has been to be better than everyone else thought I could be. I don’t want to accept limits put on me by doctors, friends, coaches, or myself. A special person once told me, “There are no limits.” I finally know what that means.

A limit is a curse that people put on themselves when they are afraid to try and fail. But if hard work is used in an attempt to expand the limits, then there is no such thing as failure, only temporary setbacks. And even those can be used as stepping stones for improvement.

At the start of the season, I was sore, nervous and doubtful. I had almost accepted the limits put on me. But instead I decided to prove to everyone that I could succeed. Dedication and commitment are the only ways to be the best that is possible. The two are more than just words. People may say that they are dedicated and others can believe them. But inside themselves they’d know they could have been more.

Now the season is over, and I am happy with myself. I can now look in the mirror and proudly say, “I have done the best that I could.” It is something that I never could have said before.

Some people have told me not to take track so seriously- “It’s just a sport.” But I would not have put so much into it if I hadn’t gotten something greater out of it. This is the first time I have done something and enjoyed the work as much as the results. I get a great feeling from knowing that I have pushed myself and done everything that I can.
The things that I will remember most about this track season are not getting first place. I never did. More rewarding for me is beating people with natural ability who do not use it, and being better than I ever thought I could be.

I can now say that I am successful and believe it. But I could not have been happy if I had tried to achieve success alone or only for myself. The sweetest part of the personal victories I have experienced has been sharing them with supportive teammates and coaches who believed in me. Beyond myself I worked for them.

Once I was asked to ponder the meaning of the quote, “To love the sport beyond the prize.” I’m still not exactly sure how to explain it, but I am certain that I have loved the sport of track and field far beyond its material prizes.

Dedication is not just a word. People may call themselves dedicated, but only a satisfied few can believe it. Dedication requires hard work, and hard work brings success. And success brings not material prizes, but satisfaction. I am satisfied.