It seems that physical excellence is glorified to an excess in our society. The heroes of today are not the courageous men and women who’ve risked life or limb to make the world a better place, they are those who were born with gifts that most of us don’t have. Perfect bodies, athletic talent, perfect looks.

I’ve known parents who think their kid is going to be the next movie star. They primp, they preen, and they subject their children to the rigors and trials of beauty or talent competition, most with little regard for the mental welfare of the child. I say this because of all the parents like that I’ve known or heard of, I can’t think of any who taught their child how to handle it when they didn’t win the competition. Even worse, many of these parents berate the child for not winning. That is unconscionable.

Winning Isn’t Everything

I really dislike the paradigm some have of life being a competition. It isn’t, unless it’s within yourself. That is the only competition that counts. It’s what you do with yourself when you don’t ‘win the prize’ that shows what kind of person you’ve learned to be.

Unfortunately, that lesson isn’t being taught very much, that I can see. I constantly see children, upon being bested at something or other, throwing temper tantrums that could put the young Helen Keller to shame. Then their parents do the shoulder-patting thing—”It’s ok, baby, they cheated”, or something to that effect.

You know what? Losing is ok. Failing to try isn’t, but losing is. If you learn from losing, you’ve won. If you learn that you shouldn’t be competing at the level you’re trying to, you’ve learned a lesson.

So What Do You Do When You’re In Over Your Head?

You move on to other things. You don’t beat yourself up over it. You have more talents, more abilities, more potential than any one contest can display. So look beyond winning a single game, and look to winning at life. Improve yourself, find what you’re good at, and do that.

If your face is ugly, learn to sing!