Most people underestimate their own abilities. They tend to remember their failures more vividly than their successes, and for this reason they have unrealistically low expectations about what they are capable of. Those individuals who distinguish themselves through great accomplishments are
usually no more talented than the average person: they simply set higher standards for themselves, since they have higher expectations about what they can do.
Assignment:
Do highly accomplished people achieve more than others mainly because they expect more of themselves? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Please do not take spelling into account when grading this.
Any spelling errors are simply typos that came about while I copied this from my original handwritten copy.
Failure is said to be one of the most important stepping stones to success. Thomas Edison was forced to spend countless hours in his lab, enduring thousands of failure before he could successfully get his light bulb to light and last. He had no past success to drive him. Instead, he used his failure as motivation, knowing that he was capable of success. I firmly believe that it is not necessary for one to be highly accomplished to achieve more, and this can be seen in the case of Michael Phelps’ Olympic run, and my experience as a Policy Debater.
Michael Phelps entered the 2004 Athens Olympics known as nothing more than the American underdog pitted against the world famous Australian, Ian Thorpe. Though all odds were against him, Phelps pull off a considerable feat; he defeated Thorpe and earned himself six gold and two bronze medals. To many, he had succeeded, but to himself, he had failed. Well-knowing that he was fully capable of winning all of his events, Phelps pushed forward to win eight gold medals and break seven world records at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Using his failures as stepping-stones Phelps became the greatest Olympian in history.
Though I do not expect to become one of the greatest policy debaters in history, I expect myself to live up to my capabilities. As a novice debater, I never came out of a tournament with a winning record. My partner and I would always end up losing a key round which would keep us from elimination rounds and any chance at victory. I watched helplessly as the rest of my team consistently won tournaments. Resolved to not let this happen again, I spend three weeks at a debate institute preparing myself for the new season. I worked and toiled, using my failure as raw motivation. Coming out of the new season, I help the best record on my team, and capped it off with the title of “State Champion.”
Thomas Edison needed to fail in order to succeed, an anomaly that is responsible for many of the greatest breakthroughs in history. In the end, it doesn’t come down to the level of success one attains, or the amount of failure one must endure. It is about the way one learns from one’s mistakes in order to avoid stepping in the same crack.