"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
- Confucius
We don't accept challenges for no reason at all. We accept them knowing that we might fall; and when we do, it is how we deal with it that defines our character; whether we sit there and wallow in self-pity, or pick ourselves up and rise to the challenge once more.
Rising again after we've fallen is harder than rising to the challenge for the first time. Often, when we fall, we fall hard. Hard enough to crush all our hopes and dreams, and instill in us distrust, fear and hatred. Picking ourselves up after such setbacks defines our character more than the setback itself. In comparison, the setback would seem insignificant, like a fly on the wall, a little nuisance in the way, once we rise up again and eventually succeed in our endeavours. Of course, we may not succeed the second, third or even the fourth time we try again; but it's how we never give up each and every time we fail that matters more than the failures themselves.
Nobody's perfect. Everybody falls, some harder than others. But it's how we pick ourselves up that matters.
"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."
- Batman
Who would've ever though Batman could come up with a good quote like that? :P
Sure, we may say all sorts of things about who we are underneath to others, but when it comes to actually proving those, it is, indeed, what we do that defines us. We might say that we are brave and loyal and would do anything for our friends, even take a bullet for them; but if a gun was really pointed at them one day, would you actually step in front of them and take the hit? Would you risk losing your life and everything you've ever known and hold dear, just to ensure they live one more day, or, in the pressure of the situation, completely forget your promise and simply watch on as the gun fires and they fall slowly to the ground, bleeding?
Indeed, the important decisions and choices we make in our lives define our character and who we are. We are judged not by what we say, but by what we do. In other words, our character may be who we are underneath, but it is our actions that show and prove it to the world.
