The Olympic Spirit : Winning is not everything
I was on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai when I saw the inflight moive “Eddie The Eagle” starring Taron Egerton and Jack Hughman. The movie was about Olympic ski jumper Eddie Edwards who overcame numerous obstacles to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics. Although he did not win any medals, he managed to set national record for Great Britain. His passion for the game and his grit determination resonated with the crowd at the Olympic Games and ignited great interest in the press. When Eddie returned to England after the games, he was given a rousing welcome despite not winning any medal. This movie brought home that point that even at the Olympics where nations of the world gather to compete, winning is not everything.
I remember the day when my daughter Victoria entered Primary One, my advice to her then was, “You need not get first position in class, just be and do the best that you can”. There are 40 odd students in the class, but only one student can get first position. This is quite an unorthodox stand in Asian society where so much emphasis is placed on academic excellence. In Kuching, where I lived, it is very common to see parents shuttling their kids to one tuition class after another right after school. In fact, many school kids eat their lunch in the car while being driven from school to tuition centers. I am glad to say Victoria is doing well academically and is today a 3rd year engineering undergraduate.
We want to get ahead in life and as parents it is also normal that we also want our children to have a head start in life. But at times, we need to reflect on the price that we need to pay in order to get ahead. The competitive spirit that has been instilled in us since our childhood often drive us to desire to win practically everything often at all cost. Is life just about winning?
When you win, the feeling is often euphoric, you are in the seventh heaven but that feeling is also fleeting. Soon, life gets back to its usual routine, with its ups and downs, highs and lows. And with time, the glory of winning gradually fades away. We cannot lived in our past glory. The important thing is that you have given your best. In life, each of us has a cross to carry, struggles that we need to overcome. For me personally, my greatest struggle is living with my autistic son. But it is in the process of dealing with these struggles, that I have learn to become a better human being, to be grateful for the things that I have and be able to reach to others. And my life is more meaningful because of this.
Cheers
Charles
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I completely and utterly agree. I am British and we have just been very successful at the Rio Olympic games, coming second in the medal table, following two decades of massive investment from government lottery money into Olympic Sports. However the investment has only gone to sports where athletes have a chance of winning a medal. And if you don't win a medal your funding is immediately cut. The BBC coverage was completely saturated,of 'Team GB's position in the medal table, Team GB athlete's winning medals, medals per hour, people shining their medals, what people like to do with them when they get home etc etc. It was madness. I ended up longing for the time when we didn't win so much and everyone wasn't so insanely focussed on 'podiuming'. Eddie the Eagle was a hero to me, as was Derek Redmond in Barcelona 1992 check out Youtube.
Thanks for dropping by. There is to much focus on wining in these days. And in order to win, people will resort to anything including taking drugs to improve their performance.
This is such an inspirational post. People become stronger and better due to their struggles.
Agree with you. As long as we don't give up, our struggles will make us stronger. It is better to try and fail then not to try at all. In life, our struggles will become our life lessons.