Among many others, I have recently participated in watching The 2016 Olympic Games. This year, I have actually caught myself staring at my television screen in awestruck wonder of the talent these athletes have on multiple occasions.
Honestly, it gives me chills just watching the games: the flips and turns of the gymnasts, the mind-blowing speed of track stars and the chemistry and bond that the teammates have. I get goosebumps every time I see the reaction of an athlete that has just won a gold medal.
I constantly think to myself, “Wow. I wish I were that talented…”
The other day, I came across a strand of ads for the Olympians. But, these were not just your typical ads that promote you to buy something, they were ads with a message. See two of them below:
These ads had the same ending — “It's what you do in the dark, that puts you in the light.”
As the videos came to a chilling end, that quote continued to stick in my head for days. I thought, "we cannot all be Olympic athletes, but we can work at our own dreams to get to the 'light' at the end of our days." Every single one of us is highly capable of living our lives with integrity and hard work.
We can all be great.
Every single person on earth has a set of skills nobody else has: some of us are good at math, some of us are tech-savvy and some of us know how to fix cars. Some of us just know how to be a great people - Great parents, great daughters, or great friends.
We are all talented in our own beautiful ways. Yes, we all have dark times. We may have days filled with depression, anger or mourning; But, the choice remains to not let dark days define our true character. Eventually, there will be beams of light. It can be a job promotion, a proud parenting moment, or finally graduating college. Our "lights" do not have to be like these Olympians standing on podiums while millions of people are watching, they can be realistic towards our own lives and fit towards our needs.
Not many people go on to win Olympic gold medals, but every day we can work towards our own set goals and aspirations. There are days where we want to give up. But the “dark” is where our true colors really shine brightly.
I believe every person has a fire of passion inside of them for something. But, it is up to us to figure out what we love, and put the work in to make it happen.
When nobody is watching and you are all alone, are you still working towards your dreams today?
We are all capable of greatness, if we choose to work hard in the silence and darkness
