Messi's Failure Is Great

Lionel Messi is considered by many to be not only the greatest soccer player in the world, but of all time. At the very least, he's one of only two in contention for that honor. He has been fortunate to achieve unbelievable heights of success and bask in the blinding lights of fame, wealth, and praise. Despite such greatness, he once again failed in a final to bring home a trophy to his country. Fourth time in his career he's been so close, only to fall short. The pain and anguish in him was plain as day and hard to watch for anyone with any amount of compassion and empathy. He was an absolute emotional wreck; he looked completely and utterly destroyed. 

And it was great. No, this isn't Schadenfreude. No, I'm not a Messi hater. No, there's no cruelty in this. His failure is genuinely good for the world. It's a reminder that we all fail. We all fall short. We all experience gut-wrenching heartbreak and disappointment. Not even the greatest are infallible or immune. Not even the best are or can be perfect. All of us, every last one of us, no matter how good we become, we all sometimes end up with our head buried in the grass.

Julio Cortez/AP

I find great comfort in this actual real-world fable. It's all too easy to fret and compare our lives to those who seemingly have it better, to those who are seemingly more successful than us. It's all too easy to feel like failures when compared to those such as Messi, who have accomplished astonishing amounts. It's all too easy to lose perspective in the midst of failure, mistaking temporary setback for permanent inadequacy. Messi has reminded us that's all silly hogwash. His heartbreaking failure has reminded us that we are all equal, we are all fallible, we are all mortal, and none of us are special.

I sure do hope his declaration to retire from the national team was just a heat-of-the-moment emotional reaction that doesn't stick. Though he has already done the world a great service with his failure, the fable isn't quite finished. The most important part of the fable is to keep going. He has a great chance show the world, especially the impressionable young, that what matters most is to not quit in the face of failure. Keep pushing on. Failure will happen; you have to learn from it and grow from it, and eventually success will come. There is no success without failure first. Even if you don't achieve all your goals, what matters is that you tried and got back up after getting knocked down.

My heart goes out to him, and I don't blame him for being so distraught, especially with all the incomprehensible pressure he's constantly put under (and with the Argentinian FA in corrupt chaos), but I hope he sees the light and completes this wonderful fable.