strength
[strengkth, strength, strenth]noun
1. the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor.
I'm referring to the second definition.
I've been thinking about strength a lot this week and what makes us strong. I've also been thinking a lot about what makes us put up with so much until we can't take it any more. We all have our breaking point and it takes something really extreme to find it. And at that extreme moment when we are pushed as far as we will go, we realize that we are stronger than we thought.
As I was thinking about strength this week I came across this wonderful quote by Eleanor Roosevelt.
"We gain strength, courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot."
No one wants or invites adversity into their life but it happens and when it does all we can do is look fear in the face. We have to take what is happening to us and we have to turn it into a learning experience. That's why I love this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. We actually gain strength, courage and confidence from the bad stuff as much as we do from the good stuff.
So all we can do is try to live a strong life. And not to go overboard with the sports theme or the quotes, the other quote that comes to mind is this awesome Nike ad quote. One of my favorites, so I'm going to recycle it.
"Too often we are scared. Scared of what we might not be able to do. Scared of what people might think if we tried. We let our fears stand in the way of our hopes. We say no when we want to say yes. We sit quietly when we want to scream. And we shout with the others, when we should keep our mouths shut. Why? After all,we do only go around once. There's really no time to be afraid. So stop. Try something you've never tried. Risk it. Enter a triathlon. Write a letter to the editor. Demand a raise. Call winners at the toughest court. Throw away your television. Bicycle across the United States. Try bobsledding. Try anything. Speak out against the designated hitter. Travel to a country where you don't speak the language. Patent something. You have nothing to lose and everything everything everything to gain. JUST DO IT." - 1992: Barry Sanders
Enough said...