The fear of failure is something that haunts many people. It leaves some people so traumatised that they don't even try. "What's the point? If I'm going to fail in the end, why should I even bother?". There have been many times in our lives that we have failed; a lot of which we seldom remember. The first ever steps we took, were after many times of landing on our backsides. The first ever bike we managed to ride without the stabilisers, was after many times of losing balance and ending up on the floor. The first ever time we managed to float and swim, was after drinking many litres of water while drowning. The first time we hit a home run, or a six, or the goal, was after swinging and missing many times. But we kept going, and today we can not only walk, but run and dance and skip.
While cleaning up some of my stuff that I still have from high school, I came across my school diary. On the deep blue front page, underneath the golden logo it had the words "Vincit qui patitur" written in the same colour. He who perseveres conquerors. Life is full of many decisions, many choices, that we consciously make regarding whether we should invest in something and pursue a particular goal. There are times when obstacles are laid in our paths and we are hindered in our progress. Sometimes it's people who leave us with so many problems and headaches that we begin to question our own abilities. You may be used and you you may be abused by others. Keep your head up high, and keep moving on. Giving up doesn't help anyone, especially as we will be held responsible for our successes and only we will be blamed for our failures. If we never try, we will never know whether we can or can't do something. When faced with a difficult task, rather than wishing it were easier we should wish we were better and strive to be so. "Failure is an event not a person," Zig Ziglar. It's okay to fall, but it's stupid once having fallen a person does not realise why they fell and continues to fall repeatedly, again and again.
I remember posting a PowerPoint presentation earlier which my dad once sent to me. It was full of quotes and examples of many individuals who continued to persevere against all odds and whose names we remember today. "Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all," Dale Carnegie.
Be not afraid of failing and worry not about it. Instead, worry about the countless chances we let slip through our fingers when we do not even bother trying.
In the words of Sir Winston Churchill, "Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." (29 October 1941)
Persevere, and you can conquer it all. May you all taste the sweet syrup of success.
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Title: Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
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