Diaz: It is in the falling, not in the rising

SOMETIMES, if not most of the time, we must first make mistakes before we could score victories. Nothing wrong with failing, but learning from our mistakes is the surefire formula for success.

Be prepared to fail but after the fall, be ready to rise.

As I keep saying here, one of my favorite lines is, “It is not in the rising but in the falling.”

It is not always nice to emphasize the rise. At times, by doing that, it could sound like you were merely bragging, blowing your horn.

But by banging on the value of falling, the rising part will just flourish on its own. Falling is like a bud ready to bloom. Use the fall as a spur, or a spark if you will.

You will be surprised but the rise will come as natural as breathing.

If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m into this falling and rising mode because of what Hidilyn Diaz had just done, achieved, in the Rio Olympics.

Diaz, 25, won the weightlifting silver Sunday in the women’s 53-kg. behind Taiwan’s Hsu Shu-Ching, ending the country’s 20-year medal drought after Onyok Velasco’s boxing silver in 1996 Atlanta.

The feat made Diaz the first female Olympic winner for the country, and was the first-ever weightlifting medal owner since we made our Olympic debut in the 1924 Paris Games. Earlier medals came in track and field, swimming and boxing (5).

Diaz definitely dramatized the nation’s yearning for Olympic glory, even as she was herself a virtual loser before claiming fame.

At 17, Diaz was brought to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Failure.

At 21, Diaz was brought to London for the 2012 Olympics. Failure.

At 25, an undaunted Diaz rose back from failures as she blossomed to win gold in the 2015 Asian Championship and an all-important bronze in the 2015 IWF World Championship that qualified her for Rio. A brand-new warrior was born.

After winning the silver on a 200-kg lift (88 in snatch, 112 clean and jerk), a teary-eyed Diaz said: “I have tried so hard. I have stumbled many times. I wanted to quit, but now all of my sacrifices have paid off.”

Diaz has not only lifted herself to eternal prominence. She has also lifted a nation’s pride to unmatched honor and glory.

From Rio, she goes to the US for university scholarship. She can start dreaming. Again.