Nothing is guaranteed in life

I was touched by the failure of the British Rhythmic Gymnastic team to qualify for the Olympics - really I was this isn't a wind up.  They missed the benchmark to qualify of 45.223 by 0.273.  The athletes had sacrificed everything over the years including their parents remortgaging their homes to fund their daughters ambition of taking part in the year the Olympics were in the UK.  How heart breaking for them.  I'm not a fan of rhythmic gymnastics but it demonstrates the small margins between success and failure.  However despite their disappointment they took part in the final the following day and improved their score by 2 points beating 2 teams that had qualified for the Olympics.  Now that takes real mental strength following the disappointment from the day before - well done to the girls and their coaches.
They have 4 more years before the next Olympics and I am sure that this experience will have made them stronger and more determined to succeed whether it be in their sport or in life.  When I said that nothing is guaranteed in life it isn't quite true.  If you don't step up to the line, you'll never know the joy of success and the lessons from failure (which is just 1 step closer to success).