“Come on, Alex! Hurry, we’re gonna be late!”

Alex quickly tied her shoelaces and ran to her teammate, as they both were going to the soccer practice. Alex loved playing soccer, but she struggled to score goals. She would get frustrated and want to give up, especially when her team lost. But soccer was one of the best things that happened to her. Alex felt life flare up inside her and the thrills she experienced were like no other, ecstatic and addicting. But her inability to score goals made her want to give up.

Today, as well, no matter how hard she tried, missing the goals made her more distressed and unfocused on the overall game. After practice, Alex’s coach, a wise and experienced player named Coach Maria, sat her down on the bench.

“Alex, perseverance is like a muscle that grows stronger with every try. In soccer, we don’t just score goals overnight. We practice, we train, and we keep trying until we succeed,” Coach Maria explained.

Coach Maria started encouraging Alex to keep practicing her shots, and to keep running and trying, even when it got tough. And Alex did. She practiced every day, honing her skills and building her endurance.

At first, she didn’t see much improvement. But she didn’t give up. She kept pushing herself, and slowly but surely, she started to see progress. She scored her first goal, then her second, and soon she was a top scorer on her team!

Alex learned that patience and consistency is the key to success in sports and in life. She realised that every missed shot, every lost game and every tough practice was an opportunity to learn and come back stronger. As she grew older, Alex became a star player, known for her determination and perseverance on the field. And she inspired her teammates to do the same, creating a team culture of resilience and grit.

Just like Michael Jordan said, “To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.” Therefore, failure should always be treated as a meaningful step towards your goals. Don’t be demotivated and remember, it’s the “getting up and continuing” after falling down that counts.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 17th, 2024