The London Olympic Games ended on Sunday, but the moving scenes of athletes challenging their physical limits in the competition arena will live on in the memories of many spectators. And the Olympic spirit will inspire many to excel in their careers.

With the closing of the World's biggest sports gathering for another four years, athletes should bear in mind that the journey is more important than the destination. For all athletes, as long as they have tried their best, they deserve the respect of spectators. As long as they have tried to the best of their abilities to challenge themselves, they have honored the Olympic Spirit.

For spectators who have watched the competitions in the gymnasiums or stadiums or on TV, it is time to chew on what they have seen.

Applause for the outstanding performance of athletes, sighs of helplessness when their favorite competitors' failed to grab a medal and even curses for the referees whose judgment was believed to be unjustifiable have suddenly become nothing but memories of passing moments that may not even leave a mark in the history of world sports.

But in watching such sporting events, we should take strength and inspiration not just from the fastest, strongest and highest, but also from the slowest, the weakest and the lowest, as those who never had any hope of getting a medal have dedicated themselves not to winning but to taking part.

Athletes have already achieved a great deal when they make progress in their training. Setting a new personal best is something worth celebrating.

Every one of us has a dream of our own. We all want our dream come true. But factors outside our control mean many of us will never realize our dream. Yet we may parallel what we have achieved in the process of getting our own dreams come true to what the athletes have experienced.

The participation of Oscar Pistorius, the South African runner, who has a double below-knee amputation and who runs on J-shaped carbon-fiber prosthetics, epitomized the Olympic spirit.

This spirit is why this sports event is important, and is where we should look for inspiration in our own lives.

(China Daily 08/13/2012 page8)