We are only human, capable of getting out of this life what we put into it. However, it has always been in our best interests to try reaching outcomes greater than the inputs used to reach the destination. We think that for some reason we will be able to improve our skills sets without pushing past our limits or challenging ourselves to do greater things just because we're afraid that we can't do them. We remain stagnant, but we expect to witness change happening.It doesn't work that way, though.

When it comes to athletics, great athletes are separated from the mediocre athletes by the extra hours, miles and reps that were put into making their sport a lifestyle. As a Division III athlete who is at school for the class credits and runs just for the pure rush and love of it, watching the Olympic Games is like watching a superhero movie unfold on real time. I sit glued to the television (while I should probably be running), gawking at the ungodly times being clocked by these men and women and fantasizing over how many miles that probably preceded the one race that their careers led up to. Their entire careers are determined by mere seconds when, in reality, their entire lives were dedicated to those few moments.

Watching these games, I should be jealous, seeing girls finish the 800 meter run almost 30 seconds ahead of my personal best. Even though I may be an average athlete at best, I am still an athlete who understands the sweat, pain and passion that goes into training endless hours for a race that lasts only a couple of minutes. I can only feel respect for the athletes competing in Rio right now and cannot even fathom the pride that they have for themselves to make it so far. Jealousy may be one of the fleeting thoughts that I have, but I'm only jealous that I will never have the drive that these athletes have to dedicate their entire lives to the sport that they can't even call a sport anymore. Their sports are their lives.

What we see during the Olympic Games only scratches the surface of what goes into competing at that level. We don't even know half of it, and these athletes are the people who know that the best athletes are made when no one is watching, when the only person holding them accountable for the work that they put in is themselves. Even at a lower level, I am still an athlete, but the Olympics inspires me to do more with my abilities than I am right now. When we think that we can't push harder, go longer, stride longer, we can. The toughest step in getting better is pushing past the pain that tells us that we've hit the wall and don't have what it takes to take it to the next level. We cannot all become Olympic athletes, but we can always do more than what we are currently doing in order to become more.