Last year I started memorizing poetry. Why? Obviously because I want to impress people. Ok, well, noโโmainly because I want to keep my brain healthy. I heard a neuroscientist say the best way to do that is to keep learning new things. Why not learn and memorize some of the greatest formed sentences?
This one isn’t exactly a poem. It’s an excerpt from a speech Theodore Roosevelt gave. People refer to the speech as “The Man in the Arena.”
Why am I choosing this “poem”? Because it reminds me to engage in life, try new things, do my best. To get my ego bruised and try again. There will always be people to judge and heckle, but life is a blip. We’re not guaranteed tomorrow or even an hour from now. We’re only guaranteed now.
Theodore Roosevelt said:
It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled,
or where the doer of deeds could have done 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 and comes short again and again;
who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions,
and 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 know neither victory nor defeat.
Quick tip I like to do for memorizing things. Take a screenshot and use it as your lock screen wallpaper. Like this:
And, here, if it’s helpful, download this wallpaper I made of the quote that should fit your home screen.
Love,
Aaron