Know Who We Are

"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it." - Maya Angelou, poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, and activist

I don't know too many people who want to encounter defeat. I do know many who are obsessed with perfectionism. I was one of them for a very long time. I would tend to avoid doing things because I didn't think I could get the perfect results that I was always looking for when I took on a project. This attitude ended up causing me to get very little accomplished and I was full of fear as well.

There is nothing wrong with defeat if I learn from it. I give it my best attempt and then I move onto the next thing without judging myself for the previous results. Ms. Angelou is spot-on here - I have come to learn who I am and what I can rise from. This knowledge gives me the hope I need to move forward because I know I can still come out of whatever I am facing in the present moment.

The key for me here is to always put forth my best efforts in whatever I am doing. If I don't give my best efforts, then the defeat, should it come, is due to my lack of trying rather than my lack of knowledge. There is a difference between the two issues for me. I don't want to fail because of my laziness but I will accept defeat if I have given 100% to the attempt.

Today I am grateful to know the difference and I know that I am never defeated in life. I may have to start over from time to time but my focus must always be on giving all that I have. The results will speak for themselves. I am grateful.