“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ♥ Teddy Roosevelt.
Remain Steadfast; do not waver. You can prevail~ whether or not you succeed at what you are trying do, remember that prevailing means you keep on pushing and trying. That is all we can do ~ our best.
Believe Anyway 
“That is all we can do ~ our best.” Thanks, Kate!
Blessings, Ellen
Oh you are so welcome, dear Ellen.Blessings right back to you!
Oh, I have always loved this quote. Critics are often just so much hot air. We need those who aren’t afraid to GET hot, to sweat, to work. The goal is a good thing. The accomplishment, though, is everything. No matter the aim, we should not listen to those who would criticize a ten-yard gain. Sure there’s another 90 to go, but progress is progress!
Thanks for this. You help so much! And T. Roosevelt was home schooled! 😉
Did not know that about T.R.~but I am surely not surprised!! That is right—each gain no matter how small moves us along. It is important to take note of our progress so that we are truly aware that we have done honor to God with our striving and gains. Even the occasional yardage loss will serve a purpose if we do not give up. thanks, dear twin!
I think we can see this better in the context of football because we are rooting for our home team, watching their every attempt with great longing, understanding their conflict, and sympathizing with their foibles. We should be so connected to anyone, or at least realizing it is little different for anyone. We have brains. It’s not that hard to make the connection between my goofups and yours.
I think the one who refuses to grasp someone else’s agony of defeat probably thinks he cannot make mistakes. So he sets himself up for a painful learning experience.
Because anyone can make a mistake or stumble on their way to a grand goal.
oh i think you hit the nail on the head there!! Exactly right, he clings to the concept that he cannot make mistakes over and over again, and thus believes it is a huge tragedy when he does make a mistake. Jesus demonstrated steadfastness on His walk to Calvary, when He fell under the weight of the cross yet struggled back to His feet. So too must we steady ourselves and walk on.
And HOW we excuse our team losing, if they suffered from injuries!
But we look around and can be as cruel as an ancient Roman dictator when we see someone else stumbe. Sighs.
boy you said it! we must remember to be as kind and gentle with them as we would want others to be with us.
a no-brainer that we appear to be brainless about, sometimes. 😳
We sure do, don’t we? In some parts of my life I keep learning and re-learning the same lessons!
Great word, Kate–GO! God bless you today–love, sis Caddo
sis Caddo, thanks so much. Hope your day is triply blessed–love, sis kate
I always try to do my best but just occasionally it gets hard when no matter how much I try it makes no difference.
oh boy do I know what you mean there, Gilly. I am guessing that even though it doesn’t seem like it, or no one seems to notice, or nothing seems to change, that it IS making a difference. You surely make a difference to me with your writing, outreaching, and kindnesses.
What a wonderful quote! I suspect you are someone committed to doing your best most of the time! One day at a time with that one, too! 🙂 Debra
You are right, of course Debra. I am committed to doing my best despite an occasional backslide of laziness or phoning it in, as the expression goes. Those are the days that I apparently just need a wee bit of respite and restoration. Even Lance Armstrong stops for a water break every now and then, right? thanks for the kind words Debra~
The critic does not count and we do need to keep our eye on our goals and be compassionate with ourselves… TY!
Elizabeth—thanks right back. I have to say that your amazing blog leaves me breathless and in awe [over and over again].
The sentiments are mutual… The only downer is we need extra hands and helpers to comment and like across the blogosphere. I’m painfully behind. TY! 🙂
I know!!!! I am so very behind on reading my faves and commenting on them!! some of them i am catching up on, and others, I am SOOO behind!!!