Doing Your Best Is More Important Than Being the Best
Cathy Rigby was a member of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team in the 1972 Olympics at Munich, and she had only one goal in mind—to win a gold medal. She had trained hard over a long period.
On the day she was scheduled to perform, she prayed for the strength and the control to get through her routine without making mistakes. She was tense with determination not to let herself or her country down. She performed well, but when it was all over and the winners were announced, her name was not among them. Cathy was crushed.
Afterward, she joined her parents in the stands all set for a good cry. As she sat down, she could barely manage to say, “I’m sorry. I did my best.”
“You know that, and I know that,” her mother said, “and I’m sure God knows that too.”
Then, Cathy recalls, her mother said 10 words that she has never forgotten: “Doing your best is more important than being the best.”