OVER the past week, we witnessed history as one of our athletes, Levern Spencer, high-jumped to the finals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. She did us proud and placed sixth in the world. A creditable achievement, although it did not come with a medal. Despite her impressive performance, some Saint Lucians have publicly expressed disappointment that she recorded some fouled attempts, instead of attempting a leap. Undeniably, Spencer’s efforts have raised the bar, inspiring our other athletes to aspire to future Olympic glory.
The public expressions of disappointment appear in contrast to Levern’s consistent endeavours and Olympic performance, with a narrow focus on her failed attempts to get a medal. For such people, the glass is six units empty, instead of 94 units filled. Can you explain how someone placing sixth in the world, at an Olympic event, is not worthy of commendation because it did not result in a medal? While we share in her disappointment that she did not walk away with a medal on this occasion, there is something more that we could learn from Levern’s story. How do we really measure success? Is there a higher standard applied where only the top three performers are celebrated?
If that were true, we might observe the following:
* Students being scolded for exam result falling below third place;
* Lamentation for low ranking of our country when compared to others.
A quick search on the World Wide Web reveals that we appear at 77th place out of 189 countries, on the World Bank 2016 Ease of Doing Business ranking. More encouragingly, we note that the top Common Entrance Exam result for 2016 was 96.3 percent. How do we, going forward, manifest the higher standard? Maybe Levern’s victory was to ignite within the national consciousness a demand for the spirit of excellence. A sign that we are coming of age, where mediocrity will be banished. First, let’s be clear that placing sixth in the world is undeniably a measure of success. With room for improvement, let’s set our vision ahead to 2020.
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About the Author
Dr.Lyndell St. Ville is an ICT Consultant based in Saint Lucia. His expertise includes systems analysis, design, and capacity building.