Yes, I know I’ve dealt with this subject or something similar to this in previous posts. It may be boring to you now, I guess. But wait! There’s so much more to learn about it. In fact, it’s the ‘negative issues’ which grip us tighter than the Pollyanna experiences of our lives. Why? Because anything that hurts us -- gets us. It may be a prick, a painful nudge, or something so big that you never know what hit you till you see your ‘heart bashed into pieces’. That’s a figure of speech, of course. Lolz But in anyway it comes to us --- it always hurts.And nothing hits us so hard and so bad as failure. What’s failure? --- A disappointment, a letdown, a collapse, a breakdown. In short, it’s when something goes NOT by way of your expectations despite everything you’ve put into it. So then you think that you have failed and that the world stopped turning at this very point in your life. Hold it a minute there! Do you mean to say that this gigantic size of a world with zillions of people in it would all cease, halt, disappear, close down, and die just because you didn’t make it? Wow, where’d you get that?!
How about looking at it this way? Those things that come to you, those are not there just to decorate your tiny space. And it didn’t just appear out of nowhere. They come from something and will end somewhere. What goes in between is the process or journey of getting from here to there. Failure is part of that process. Since we know that nothing goes well 100% all of the time, then eventually something will go wrong and we will consequently not get what we want or plan for. Having understood that, what then do you do with failure?
Firstly, if nothing else works and you have tried everything there is to try in your book of human survival – then tap into your spiritual source. Yes, spiritual source. Because above all this stuff we’re going through is a God who runs this whole thing or manages this whole store called life. And you know what-- He’s like a traffic cop at the intersection managing the flow of human and vehicle traffic. He signals you when it’s okay to pass or not. He motions to you when you should take another lane when the other lanes are stuck. When you are stuck in failure, take heed the signs when God is motioning you to get off that lane and try another. Be wise and take heed, otherwise you will --crash!
FAILURE MAY BE ANOTHER WAY GOD IS TELLING US TO TAKE ANOTHER ROAD.
Ellen,
ReplyDeleteYou win some and you lose some. That is the way of life. If you keep fretting on loss you will never move ahead in life. God not only know what is best for us but has ensured that we get that.
Take care
Very true, Jack. And so is it true that a person should know what works and what does not when that time should come. God indeed gives us the best but He would also want us to know and learn by ourselves that some things may not work as expected ... but we can still work it out in some other way ... cos dreams can also be achieved by some other path other than what is laid out before you which has lost its luster.
ReplyDeleteGlad you dropped by.
Have a wonderful life.
Blessings to you and your family.
Hi Elen,
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with you thoroughly because what you seem to say is 'don't persevere and run away into something else.' What else do you mean by failure being an indication that you should rock your boat and board another one? I have always believed that failure is a great teacher that prepares you to succeed if you are ready to learn and stay put instead of making it an excuse to run, as you seem to suggest. I agree that you should explore other options when met with failure, but taking failure as an indication that your talent doesn't lie where you thought it lay and so you should look elsewhere is defeatism.
Indrasish.
Ah my friend Indrasish,
ReplyDeleteNice to see you again. Wonderful insight that is, truly. And I agree. Thank you.
In my piece I was referring to that point in a person's pursuit of a goal when everything that he had used to work on it didn't get him there. When he has exhausted resources, inputs, ideas, measures, and everything else in the book and yet nothing works, it's sending out a very important message that he should pay attention to. That is true and real, you know... happens to all of us. This is the perfect time to re-evaluate, re-assess in order to see what other options we may have still. In doing so we could be led to new & different solutions and approach. But it is still towards the same goal, dream, talent. This is the part where we resort more into -- initiative, resourcefulness, flexibility, and wisdom. In the process, we are learning so much more and this improves in great and greater measure our chances to succeed. Yes, these experiences truly serve as Teachers in our lives. And to which we should strive to open our minds and learn well.
So I don't see the whole idea as 'defeatism'. Rather I see that as a smart individual who can look at his plight with an objective eye and see clearly why and how he should further proceed in the light of the new circumstances or situation presented him. It's like taking a step backward and then take two big steps forward. Defeatism, to my mind, would mean doing nothing at all or plainly just giving up... won't look for other options. Defeated means you are down and out, drained of hope strength courage and faith. That, as many people who have gone through it know, would be a sorry place to be.
TC. Blessings to you and your family.