There are people who seem as if they are just born to fight. Put a wall before them and they’ll dash themselves at it, time and time again, just as the incoming tide; as sure that they can break it down as the immutable force of the oceans. They don’t seem to have any quit in them, but keep beating against that wall, crumbling a bit more of it at every blow, sure of their indomitable power to overcome.
Oh, if we could all be like that. We look at those people and ask why we weren’t made that way too. But we don’t see that person’s hurts, fears and pain. We don’t see what is driving them. We don’t see them cry when our collective backs are turned and they hurl themselves at that wall one more time, knowing that every tear they cry in pain is helping to bring that wall down.
Nor do we see that person’s other struggles. All we see is them attacking that wall. We never get the opportunity to see them face the other battles in their lives; the ones which have gotten the best of them. We think they are undefeatable, but only they know how much they have been defeated.
One who is strong may not be strong in all areas. Unless we are extremely close to those people, all we see is their public image. We see their victories and the new victories in process. But there’s another side to those people; the side where they aren’t so victorious, where they’re bleeding and bruised because something got the better of them. We can’t see it; but it’s often the pain of that other, hidden area of their lives, which gives them the strength to tear down the walls that we see.
Nobody is an automatic winner in this game called life. Fate doesn’t give some victory and others defeat. Those that win the victory do so through blood, sweat and tears. They make a sacrifice for their victory; often many sacrifices; and if we could see inside their hearts, we might find that the victory they have gained is a bitter pill to swallow, because of what they have given up in order to get it.
Victory is expensive. Ask any victor and they’ll tell you that. They’ve all suffered to get there. Do you think an Olympic gold-medal winner hasn’t suffered? How about a Superbowl champion? Did a corporate magnate rise to the top by mere luck, or did they have to pay a price for it? No, every person who you can point out and every victory that they have, has come at a cost… a high cost.
Written by: Chis’mere Mallard
Daily magazine for entrepreneurs and business owners