Participation Trophies Are Bad Quotes

Pain was nothing to them. It’s everything to most people, who shy away when it crops up in their lives. But both he and King had made a career out of going directly toward the pain, toward the suffering, in hopes of a better result when it came time to perform. It was eerily similar to what elite athletes go through before competition, only with more dire physical consequences. If they didn’t perform in the field, they didn’t get a participation trophy. They died. That translated to a sickening work ethic, and a pain tolerance practically unrivalled anywhere else on the planet. It meant that when one of them badly sprained their ankle, they taped it back up and kept soldiering on, no matter what it did to them mentally. Because all pain comes to an end. It can’t last forever.

Goals are eschewed by our culture. There is a chance for failure! We hide failure and never want anyone to feel the pain or shame of failing. All of life is designed for comfort and avoidance of displeasure. This starts at birth. This is why some children's sports leagues do not keep score. Many people rail against the idea of participation trophies, yet they never think who the trophy is for. Is that trophy for the kid who knows he did not place or knows that he was last, or is it for the parent who does not want to think his or her child is bad at anything? This is society-wide and starts young. This only creates situations where entities cannot handle adversity and the first real brush with failure destroys a soul.