Does Height Matter? - By: Maria Rattray

I work among people of varying heights and sizes. Some are shorter than I am, but so many are so much taller. Interestingly enough, many of the taller ones have parents who are considerably shorter than I am. You have to wonder how and why so much changes in one generation. So many theories abound about diet and additives in food and their affect on size. But if we use that as a reason, wouldn't everybody be affected? Wouldn't everyone be taller?

You know height can play a huge role in shaping our confidence. What I noticed over the years as a teacher, was that the taller students generally speaking, were so much confident, so much more outspoken, and sadly, often much less tolerant of some of the shorter students. I am not suggesting for a moment that the name-calling, and asides about height, or lack of it, were deliberately malicious, but I do know that they often hurt, and, they impacted on a child's social performance.

Thinking about this reminds me of a story I read some time ago regarding a young boy who suddenly stopped growing due to a rare condition that inhibited digestion of nutrients in food. In fact, the prognosis at the time was not a good one, and though he was fed supplements intravenously, his growth was permanently stunted. You can imagine the effect this would have on a child, especially a boy!

Now far from feeling sorry for himself, this young boy had an inner determination, and that was to succeed at something athletic. His sister loved ice-skating and he would often, as a frail youngster, go and watch her at the rink. That's when he determined to take up skating - against his parents' better judgment of course!

But take it up he did, and before long he was impressing many with his obvious talent. Height is not important for an ice-skater, whereas skill and dexterity are! He had both.

Interestingly enough, some time later, when he was undergoing one of his many medical checkups, doctors realised that the boy had begun to grow again. This was amazing! How could this be?

Unfortunately his growth would never be enough to allow him to match his peers in stature, but it was evidence of his recovery and that was terrific news. Now he would be able to live his dream, prove his worth, and fulfill his passion.

Today that same boy, Scott Hamilton, is a success story. People don't look at him and think that he's short. His height is not a consideration. He is a former Olympic gold-medalist who now works as a coach, a mentor, and commentator.

What people admire about him is his level of fitness, his achievements, his tenacity, and his will and determination to succeed.

No doubt Scott's parents played their part in determining who he really is and what he has become, for remember, that outer layer of our being is but a shell that holds together the person that we truly are.

So does height matter? Scott never allowed his height, or lack of height, to interfere with his grand plan to be the best, to aim high, and to win. And yet, I am certain there would have been times when doubt crept in, especially during training and when competing.

We all experience doubt, but it is the way in which you embrace uncertainty that will decide whether or not you succeed. Whatever you are trying to achieve in life, don't allow doubts and critics to detract from your unwavering belief in yourself to succeed. No doubt you will experience some failure along the way. That is part of a healthy journey, a hiccup towards eventually achieving your goals. Success was never meant to be easy. Had it been so, it would hardly be worth striving towards in the first place. Like Scott, remain determined and you too can stand tall! Height matters - only if you let it!

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