Give me defeat any day...

I have recently been going through some tough issues work-wise. I won't go into details but it reminded me of this quote.

The Man in the Arena

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." ~Theodore Roosevelt, April 23, 1910

It reminds me that I'd rather be in the middle of fight than sitting on the sidelines pointing out flaws. I think I sleep better at night even if in defeat because I know that I have not become just a sayer but am still a doer.