Redefining Success: The Power of Perseverance and Acceptance

“I know you've heard it a thousand times before. But it's true—hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don't love something, then don't do it.” – Ray Bradbury.

Like Bradbury, many find solace in this phrase—“hard work betrays none.” And I was one of them. I believed that no matter how challenging a goal is, by endeavoring, you could overcome any obstacle in life. Bradbury’s words encouraged me to consistently stay motivated throughout my skating career until March of 2020—the turning point of my career. From this day forward, my perspective on hard work has changed. Why would hard work betray none? After years of hardships, I question the essence of this phrase.

Figure skating has been my passion since I was four years old. I was certain that “hard work betrays none”. Every day I took the Oedo line from school to commute to my second home—the skating rink—to practice for hours on the cold ice. The only time I could study was during these 45 minutes of commuting. Some days, our practices would even extend up to 6 hours, and my weekends were used for training camps where I spent more than 12 hours on the ice. I sacrificed the time I spent with my friends and family to improve my skating. All this effort was to obtain a gold medal from the Japan Synchronized Skating Competition and to be dispatched to the World Synchronized Skating Competition by the Figure Skating Federation.
As we approached our competition date, the intensity of our practices increased to the point where we often continued practicing until midnight. Our coaches would rage at every mistake we made. We were worn out both physically and mentally. As a result of our extreme effort, we were able to achieve our goal of placing first in the Japan Synchronized Skating Competition. Tears of joy streamed down our faces as the gleaming gold medal reflected the proud face of our coach. At that moment, I was convinced that hard work truly does pay off. As a result of our victory, we achieved our goal, which was to enter the World Synchronized Skating Competition. While everyone was ecstatic over our victory, a sense of tension still remained on the ice for the days to follow. Our hard work could not stop there—we had to stay diligent for the world championships. At any given moment, any member of the team had the possibility of having their right to participate in the performance taken away. But after this, no one expected our dreams to shatter.

When we had one week left until the world championships, our coach came to practice with a crestfallen look. “The competition has been canceled due to the coronavirus.” My heart dropped. This is when I recalled the phrase “hard work betrays none.” I tried to replay these words in my head, but they began to lose meaning to me. I stood there, stunned, with a blank look on my face. I didn’t know what to do. Tears quickly welled in my eyes. I could not see anything but a black future.

“Hard work betrays none, but dreams betray many. Working hard alone doesn’t guarantee that you’ll achieve your dreams. There are more cases where you don’t. Even so, working hard and achieving something is some consolation at least.” – Yuzuru Hanyu

Having experienced an all-time low, the only light that opened up my way to resilience was this quote. Hanyu’s words were something I could strongly relate to. Despite our extreme hard work, our dream of competing in the Junior World Championships did not come true. However, I believe that the time and effort spent on this competition did not go to waste. After hearing Hanyu’s words, I was able to move on with my life. I was able to accept the fact that hard work does not always lead to good results, but can be a process of change in the future. After all, when hitting rock bottom, the only way to go is up.

Of course, hard work is a substantial aspect of success in the long term. In fact, success is unachievable in the long term without hard work. From my betraying experience, I came to the realization that hard work does not correlate with success. Accepting failure and having the patience to stay diligent is the key to success. I was able to move forward in life as my perspective of hard work had changed. Hard work does not instantly guarantee success, but it is simply preparation for the future. Though hard work may not necessarily appear to have an immediate result, one day it will help you in an unexpected way in the future. Like Hanyu, I aspire to accept what is out of my control and instead value the process of hard work as well as keep striving for a higher goal.

※This article was written by onikuma in 2022 in her high school years.