Mecklenburg’s

Promoting      Recovery and   Opportunity through Mentoring,      Insight,        Support and       Education

Discoveries in Recovery

Recognizing Success in Everyday Life

By Diane Riley

On April 3rd, 2007, I was watching the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in Cleveland, Ohio between the University of Tennessee and Rutgers University. Tennessee eventually won the game. After the game ended, a sports reporter from ESPN interviewed the coach of the Lady Volunteers of the University of Tennessee, Pat Summitt. With the presence of relief and joy on her face, she gave an eloquent summary of the team’s winning ethic. “It started in pre-season, actually. These women were in the weight room everyday, and they worked very hard on basic skills during subsequent practices.”

Then a few minutes later, there was a news interview with the coach of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, C. Vivian Stringer. There was noticeable sadness in her eyes, she looked exhausted, and her head was bent down slightly. She chose her words carefully and compassionately about her team’s loss. Her focus was not apologetic but praiseworthy. She related how each and every member of this young team advanced their education and enhanced their life at Rutgers despite their difficult family background. She informed all the news media present that she was deeply proud of their hard work on and off the basketball court. Ms. Stringer praised their ability to “rise above the odds” in order to make their presence known in the NCAA.

After hearing both coaches, what struck me was the fact that each of these women could have gone into an in-depth analysis of the game, but, instead, they chose to relate how determination, devotion, and hope bolster an individual’s ability to achieve success. For me, success in my life is not an elusive butterfly.  As a mental health consumer, a path to achieving success involves overcoming a difficulty, and/or accepting a challenge to improve my quality of life. 

So, how do we as consumers recognize a success? Perhaps, it is our determination to take one step at a time with a particular task, or our willingness to overcome obstacles in getting something that we need, such as food, clothing, shelter, transportation to a doctor’s appointment, affordable medication, and a paid work activity. With some of us, it requires a commitment to be willing to set a personal goal, develop a plan to meet that goal, and take action. For others, it requires a daily reminder that each activity or task that is completed is a unique success!