I was pretty
timid as a young medical student doing a six-week obstetrics clerkship. In
order to get opportunities to deliver babies I had to compete with other
students, interns and residents. I was
worried about doing things wrong – I was full of fear, which caused me to miss
out on several opportunities to deliver babies. In short I wasn’t doing well
and it showed. One of my professors, Dr. James Maciulla, sat down with me in
private and we talked things over for a long time. This little heart to heart altered my
academic path and trajectory. Dr Maciulla taught me that we learn by doing, and
that it’s ok to fail, that failure is part of the learning process. He promised
me that if I would plow forward and try hard that my self-confidence would
increase, and it did.
I learned a few
things from this experience:
First:
Fear is
paralyzing! Living a productive life requires that we ACT! We learn by doing! We
must be doers not just dreamers. In a collection of poems Rabindranath Tagore exclaimed, “The
song that I came to sing remains unsung to this day. I have spent my
days in stringing and in unstringing my instrument.” Many die with their proverbial music still in
them because they were either too afraid to act or too lazy to try. For me, I was watching valuable
opportunities, (once in a lifetime opportunities as it turned out); pass me by
because I was paralyzed by fear. I overcame this by forcing myself to act, as
painful as it was.
The antidote for fear is faith. Faith and fear cannot exist in the same
person at the same time; one will cast out the other. In order for faith to
have power in our lives we must have more than faith in ourselves, we must have
faith in God. Faith that He exists,
faith that He loves us, faith that He has all power and that “he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) As we seek, we
will surely find, then we will be able to exclaim as did the apostle Paul to
the Philippians; “I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
(Philippians
4:13) Faith in God leads us to the well
of self worth, self respect and self confidence.
Second:
Failure is part of learning. Success is not in never stumbling but in
getting up every time you fall. I saw this acted out recently at my son’s high
school track meet. The girls were running the hurdles. Long after the fastest
runners crossed the finish line, our eyes were riveted on a young runner who
tripped over every hurdle near the end of the course. Each time she fell it
took longer for her to get up. At one
point her fall looked so painful that I wondered if she would get up and finish
the race. To her credit she did. As she crossed the finish line the crowd
applauded, to me she had won the race.
Kevin J Worthen, president of Brigham Young University taught, “We should
not be so fearful of failing that we avoid trying new and hard things… how we
respond when we fail will ultimately determine how well we will succeed… Finally,
we can be assured that however we have failed, it can, from an eternal perspective,
be changed…. Because of the Atonement, all failures are changeable and temporary,
except the one that occurs when we give up. So whatever you do, don’t you dare
give up.”
Third:
One person can make a difference. At that time in my life so many years
ago, Dr. Maciulla made a lasting difference in my life. He took time out of his
busy day to help me, and I have never been the same. We can make time in our lives to serve others.
One of my favorite stories in all sports occurred at Olympic Park, in Melbourne,
Australia on March 11 1956, during the Australian mile championship. “While
running the 1500 meters a runner named Ron Clarke crashed down after clipping
another competitor’s heel, John Landy, who was very close behind, leaped
desperately to clear his body. He didn’t quite manage that, his spikes landing
on the inside of Clarke’s arm. Landy
pulled up, and with other runners streaming past him, took the time to trot
back to Clarke – who was still on the ground – and check how badly hurt he was.
And yes, he also apologized.
Assured that the injury wasn’t too serious, Landy looked up, then did
something that astonished most of the 22,000 spectators. With Clarke on his
feet now, and urging him on, he began to chase a field of runners that had gone
a long way past him.
He had about a lap and a half to go. And amazingly, he won the race. His
act of chivalry had cost him perhaps up to seven seconds, and there is no doubt
he sacrificed the chance of a world record. John Landy did not just win a
championship that day. He took a footrace into folklore.
His was a classic sporting gesture. It was a senseless piece of chivalry
--- but it will be remembered as one of the finest actions in the history of
sport. In a nutshell, he sacrificed his chance of a world record to go to the
aid of a fallen rival. And in pulling up, trotting back to Ron Clarke,
muttering ‘Sorry’ and deciding to chase the field, he achieved much more than
any world record …”
A lot of people wondered why he pulled up. The truth is, of course, that
he didn’t think about it. It was the instinctive action of a man whose mate is
in trouble.” As we run the race of life
let us take time to lift others. We can all think back to a time when we have
been lifted by the kindness of another. The injunction to each of us is “go and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:37)
As we go forward in faith, unafraid of failing, and looking for
opportunities to lift others our lives will be blessed, we will be filled with peace,
joy and HOPE and we will bring the same into the lives of others.
Till next time, keep your head up!
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