Dealing with Disappointment
... I would characterize myself as a driven, goal oriented individual who at times lets my focus on the end result push the limits of my capabilities preparing to achieve that goal. In this situation I had a very specific training regimen that I stuck to and even exceeded regardless of fatigue or injury. I was also focused on honoring the memory of woman who was like a second mother to me who lost her battle with cancer. I wanted to do this through my commitment to raise four thousand dollars for cancer research in her name. I allowed the process to overtake everything in my life in order to achieve my goals. My disappointment came during the marathon; at mile ten I was on track to achieve my time goal when I broke the inner arch of my right foot. My arch broke due to the stress I had put on it throughout my training regimen. I was crushed but my determination to finish the race pushed me to hobble nine more miles until I could not even put pressure on the foot. I felt I had failed both myself and the cause I was running for. Dealing with the disappointment of failure and being in a cast and crutches for two months was difficult for me, it was hard at first to think of any positives from the situation as I found myself dwelling on the fact that I did not fully achieve what I set out to do given the effort th...