Fail. Failure. Strong words which are used way too frequently.
Media prints reports about a sports event and calls out the players who 'failed' to qualify, or to win a medal. Social media users read these reports and in their sub conscious mind a thought is placed, that whoever did not win, they failed. They failed to achieve what they set out to, and they failed to prove their worth.
They failed.
But, did they? A sportsperson trained, worked hard day and night, for months and years, on their own accord, battling whatever hardships and problems they might have faced, set goals and practiced again and again to perfect their skills and learn new ones, and all this to then compete with equally fierce competitors. At that final moment, on the day of the match, if the outcome was not in their favor, how on earth can that be termed as a failure? To reach that stage, to qualify for the competition and then performing while dealing with the added pressures and anxieties that might be, is growing in the least and a great form of learning for better things to come.
People who have not put an ounce of hard work into the game, let alone having played at any level of the sport themselves, terming those efforts of real players as a failure, is way out of line.
Words are powerful. When used for motivation they can do wonders. The same way if used with a negative connotation they can dent somebody’s resolve or break their will.
Media should know better. They should do better.
