Relive Sarah Hughes' gold medal performance in figure skating at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games. (3:38)

Focus on doing, not avoiding

Author Zig Ziglar in his book, Better Than Good, tells about the 2002 Winter Olympic Games when a sixteen‑year‑old skated her way to a gold medal.

Sarah Hughes stepped on the ice, says Zig, not believing she had a chance of winning any medal, so she just skated with reckless abandon, unconcerned about the live audience, the television audience, or for that matter, the judges. She just gave it all she had. That sheer abandon she exhibited expressed the total joy she was feeling at the time and she turned in a spectacular performance, winning the gold.

Michelle Kwan, on the other hand, skated after Sarah and was expected to win the gold. She was a true champion, beloved by skating fans the world over, and the recipient of many medals in her career. But after Sarah Hughes’s flawless performance, Michelle went out determined not to make any mistakes. Consequently, she fell, and took the bronze.

Zig Ziglar contends that while Sarah was focused on what to do, Michelle was focused on what to avoid doing. And it made the difference. That is what fear continually does to us. We fear failure, and the very act of fearing causes us to fail. We fear the future, and because of that fear, we sabotage opportunities that come to us. We fear sickness and pain and death, and the weight of that worry increases the chances that illness will overtake us.

That is why Jesus’ words are so important to us, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

SOURCE: Fr. Tony's Homilies

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