Lex Gillette: Let’s keep on winning

USA’s Lex Gillette explains why the moment you make the decision to delete your disability from your mindset is the moment that you win. 28 Feb 2013 By Lex Gillette

The moment when you realised that no one or no thing on this earth could keep you from achieving your goals is the moment that you won.

As Paralympians and Paralympic hopefuls, we as athletes have specific goals that we wish to achieve.

I think it's safe to say that all of us want to make it to the Paralympic Games and win a Paralympic medal.

Some of us have already achieved this goal, and some of us are pushing forward and working hard to achieve these goals.

For those who have not made it to this point, do you feel as though you have not won yet?

Let's say that you have made it to the Paralympic Games and didn't make it to the podium, do you feel as though you have not won? Better yet, let's say you made it onto the podium but didn't win gold, do you feel as though you have not won?

As an athlete, winning is defined by the coulour of a medal, the number of medals, the records and the success.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

If you train very hard for a sport, you expect to put out the performance needed to win the best prize, but I think it's important to recognise the one victory that we already have under our belt.

There was a time when I began to lose my sight. I've had a total of 13 operations in my lifetime and after the last operation, doctors told me I would probably never see again.

But, what they never told me is that I could see my potential through Paralympic sport.

There are athletes with an amputation who were told by doctors that they would have a difficult time walking or running. But, what doctors fail to realise is that these athletes would eventually walk and run again, right into the Paralympic record books.

There are athletes out there who were told they would be forced to use a wheelchair for the rest of their lives. But, did they mention that these athletes would roll over life's challenges to reach the Paralympic stage?

The moment that you made the decision to delete the disability from your mindset is the moment that you won.

The moment when you decided that your disability would never define who you are as an individual is the moment that you won.

The moment when you realised that no one or no thing on this earth could keep you from achieving your goals is the moment that you won.

Do you know how many people in this world give up on themselves?

There's a lot.

And guess what?

A lot of these people don't even have disabilities.

The Paralympic Movement is comprised of a countless number of athletes who have already won, but as winners, we don't want to stop there. We want to compete at the Paralympic Games and win the Paralympic medals.

If you have not made it to the Paralympic Games, keep training hard, keep fighting. The next level of winning is in arms reach.

If you've already made it to the Paralympic Games and won Paralympic medals, do what it takes to keep acquiring those accolades.

Just remember that we've already won, but we want more than just that one victory.

Let's keep winning.