"This I Believe" Draft Critique Ready

They say that “pain is weakness leaving my body” I had no idea what this proverb meant until I started playing sports. When you’re playing your game, sweat beading on your forehead as you anticipate the next play, you have no thoughts of giving up. You want to win so badly that if you hurt yourself, it doesn’t matter; the only thing running through your mind is “pain is the weakness leaving my body”. I remember my dad telling me that when I complained about the injuries I got from sports. I remember trying to be strong and trying not to think about how bad my body felt. It was hard at first but eventually, as I got older, I learned to push forward no matter the consequences.
I believe that pain is weakness and that in this world only the strong survive. If I have to build tolerance to pain, I will, because I will do anything it takes to survive. Sports are good model for life because the way you handle the pressure of the game is they way you will handle pressure in real life. So in everything difficult in life, that hurts and makes me want to cry, I think of this saying because it makes me want to tough it out.
The best example of wanting to tough it out to get stronger is playing soccer. In my younger years, when I was just learning to play the game I used to get hurt all the time. After an especially hardcore game I was so sore I started to wonder why I even started playing soccer. The pain just didn’t seem worthwhile to me, however when I voiced my thoughts to my dad he had no sympathy. He said,“ Kristen, the pain is weakness leaving your body.” To which I answered with a whine and a pout, wanting my dad to feel my pain, my “weakness” or whatever he wanted to call it. Today, I see the wisdom of his words. I hear his voice in my head every time I’m about to complain to one of my friends about how my leg is sore, or how my thighs feel like they’re on fire after running around the field so many times. When my lungs feel like they’re about to burst and I want so bad to give it all up, I stop myself and I think” there is no pain, it’s just an illusion and I can go on. I believe that I can go on no matter what.
Therefore, if you want to get anywhere in life, if you want to advance in sports you have to learn how to take whatever comes at you as a gift. Every injury, every hard time that comes your way is a test of strength. If you pass the test then you will receive your reward, you will eradicate any weakness from your body and become the most resilient of them all.