If

I am going to write my blog about the following poem. I’d greatly appreciate if you’d read it before continuing.

If
By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

This poem has really influenced my life. At some points in elementary I had some rough goes, and this poem really helped me see the bigger picture. It applies to so many of aspects of people’s lives.

I love the encouragement in the poem! It tells you to keep going, no matter how hard things get or how mean people are, but to do your best. It follows up, though, by telling you to keep going, even when your best doesn’t cut it. In the first stanza, it does a great job at teaching self-confidence. It really doesn’t matter what others think. Remember to keep your personal standards high, and not sink to others levels. As soon as you do that, you truly sacrifice yourself. It also reminds you to not be too sure of yourself. Balance is very important. It’s very important to be able to be proud of yourself, but not too proud. Be sure of yourself, but not sure enough that you realize you are human and can make mistakes. In books, that’s usually a villain’s downfall: their inability to realize the fact that they can’t make good decisions and that they can fail.

In the second stanza, it says, “If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same.” This is one of my favorite lines in the whole poem. Notice that it says imposters, not visitors or changes, but imposters. No one really has triumph or disaster that much. It may appear that people have “everything going for them” or that others have no lucky breaks, but the outward appearance is often very wrong. Everyone experiences these things. Everyone has good days and bad days. Be careful with “triumphs”. They tend to leave people off in worse shape than disasters. People will feel like their life isn’t worth as much if they don’t have continued success or prosperity. It seems easier to bounce back from a disaster, and they usually leave people stronger, while triumphs can do the opposite. Learn how to deal with these two extremes and life will be better.

Be willing to risks things! Some of the richest people in the world were willing to take the biggest risks. You must understand, though, that there is the backside to risks: losing. You can’t win every time. Make sure that these chances aren’t so big that everything will be gone. It’s important to be moderate and careful. If you went for it, and it didn’t work, please don’t complain about it! You were the one that made the final decision, and it’s your fault. The third part also discusses endurance. Once again: it’ll get better if you just keep going!

Everything in the forth paragraph is very important to life, too. Be able to mingle with everyone, yet keep your individual standards and remember who you are. Don’t give into peer pressure. That’s one of the greatest challenges faced by teenagers and too many succumb.

I always have to think of this poem when I run. “If you can fill the unforgiving minute, with 60 seconds worth of distance run.” That means, take the hardest time for you, give it your all, and it will pay off! If you do this, you will be rewarded all throughout life.

Remember to keep all the good things around you going on and to always remember who you are. I hope you can now see why I believe this is such an influential poem and why it has had such a great impact on me!