IT is that time of year when school spirits are high and we gear up for the showcase of talent and tenacity on the track. These athletes would have trained and sacrificed time in preparation for the great fete of carrying their school before others to the finish line.

There is excitement coupled with the adrenaline-pumped athletes and supporters alike, gunning for victory.

Running concurrently with this athletic event is the season of Lent. Here people seek to make sacrifices with either the intention of renewing their connection with God, or merely trying to transform themselves into better persons. What is common with these two events is the importance of victory with the integral ingredient of sacrifice.

TEENage would like to draw your attention to how it is that one can use the principle of delayed gratification and MAC to reap the success they so badly desire.

The structural make-up of success can be captured in the acronym MAC.

We should always seek to have positive people around us motivating us, even through those times of adversity when it seems that the stress of success is too much. Society will provide the naysayers and those who are hoping that you fail, but with the positive people in your corner, you will be able to conquer anything.

The adrenaline is the requisite energy needed to push through those tumultuous times and this can be fuelled by competition.

Competition is an important facet to success since we all hold ourselves to a standard, but in differing standards represented by other people, we will indirectly push past the boundaries of our own standard and broaden our horizons.

In understanding what it takes to be successful, we reveal the adhesive that provides the platform for these ingredients: sacrifice.

As we have previously mentioned, the Lenten period speaks to making sacrifices. What we choose to give up is usually something that we either depend on, or are exceedingly fond of. Now the question that remains is why would we select something that brings us so much enjoyment, to give up for 40 days? It is because we are testing ourselves and giving ourselves a mission, which at the end of it would give us such a great sense of victory.

We are also on the brink of the exam season, and we are striving hard to attain good grades for our respective reasons.

Our parents and teachers will motivate us by underscoring that all the hard work that we’ve been putting in all boils down to this moment. Those late nights of caffeine (which should be complemented by healthy eating) will give us the energy and adrenaline to read and retain the volume of information necessary to do our exams.

Our biggest competition should be ourselves; and as an extra incentive, right after the storm comes the calm of summer for refueling and relaxation.

TEENage would like to encourage you to adopt these principles in all facets of your life. In the race of life, we should make success our finish line and as long as these principles are intertwine in your plan, the possibilities are endless.