Victorious in Defeat

Going back to my elementary days, I've seen countless people that drew my awe because they were just so "cool." As I got older I found myself more and more attracted to these people, though the factors that created this aura of coolness had no doubt changed. When I was more rapidly maturing, I soon recognized that not all who appeared cool actually were; many merely hid behind an image, a mirage whose beauty slowly but surely dissipated as it was more closely approached. I began to notice that not everyone who was cool fit the same bill. Many, in fact, had images that would normally be perceived as anything but cool. They could wear glasses, tuck in their polo shirt, have a big ketchup stain on their jeans. It didn't matter what they looked like. When they spoke, and when they acted, I knew.

You know what made these people ones I'd want to be with, ones I'd want to be? They knew who they were and wore it on their sleeve. They were confident, not in an outward bragging manner, but their words and actions were honest and convicting. There was no effort in hiding their true selves, in creating any fictitious or magnifying image. Far from flawed they were. Just as important as knowing who they were, they knew who they weren't. What separated them from the rest of us was, just as important as holding no reservations in showing who they were, they held no reservations in showing who they weren't.

Do not confuse the person who acknowledges his limitations with the one who is defeated. A fine line exists between the defeated and the determined. Both acknowledge their shortcomings, but one takes a more positive outlook, looking for how outcomes can change, how to better their situation, how to better themselves. They may end up in the same place as the defeated, but the determined get their with heads held highly, prepared for the next journey.