The dust has settled...cough...cough! :)

Well guys, it's all over...

As most of you probably know, I didn't place nearly as well as I had hoped. I was in the 3rd callout and I think I placed an unofficial 16th (based on my name being first after #15 on the MD site). Not that it really matters though. LOL

As I stood up there on the diagonals I was initially disappointed, but as I reflected, I honestly began to feel ok with my placement. I thought about it, and realized I put 100% into my prep and came in looking my best ever. How could I possibly complain or be upset? If there were guys better than me that day, then they deserved to place higher. I felt good knowing I did the absolute best I could and I was satisfied with my achievements, regardless of my placing.

Of course there's always at least one take-away lesson from every 'failure' we experience in life, and I think we can garner a few big ones here:

1. Allowing YOU to be the only judge of yourself is all that's important in determining whether you were successful in your endeavor of choice. Don't let others' opinions dictate whether you are/were successful.

2. Remember that even though you may not reach your goal, you can always learn something from your 'failure' and improve based on the knowledge you gained from your experience. Also remember that 'failure' is a verb and NOT a noun. Just because you didn't reach a goal doesn't mean you're a failure - it only means you have an opportunity to try again!

And 3., (on a bodybuilding-specific level): I need to be a heavyweight for my height to try and move up in placements, as I'm just too darn tall for the light-heavies. (Boy I never thought I'd be saying I'm too tall!!! LOL)

I have a lot more to say that I'll post in the future and all in all, the weekend was a blast - I'll write more in the next post about it!