What if you don't try?
I have seen and heard lot of people giving excuses for their
inability to act out their dreams. The truth of the matter is
that there is hardly anybody existing on this earth that does
not have a dream or an object of desire. But the unfortunate
thing is that majority put up reasons why they couldn't or
wouldn't live their dreams.
When a dream comes to the mind of so many people, the first
thing they do is to ask themselves, where the resources to
achieve the dream will come from. Some people even doubt if they
have the abilities to carry out such a dream. Another crippling
question most ask is, "What if I fail?" This is the most
debilitating of all the reasons people don't achieve much in
life. They tend to focus more on the impeding failure than
success! Once this question comes to mind, you will start
thinking of people who will mock you when you fail and this will
stop you from even taking a step.
How many times have we heard the word, "No pain, No gain?" What
meaning does this word bring up in your mind? It is always
frightening to take risks and try new things but those who try
are those who succeed. If the Wright brothers have been crippled
by the fear of failure, we will not have had the aeroplane today
and we will be spending days, if not months, to get to our
various destinations, for a journey of a few hours by the
aeroplane. Other technological advancements also wouldn't have
been possible if the thought of failure has predominated the
mind of their architects.
One truth about failure/mistake is that we will keep making one
as long as we are still humans. Your decision not to act may
even be a GREATER mistake because you never can tell what you
would have become if you have acted on your dreams. Mistakes
make one grow in wisdom, experience and character. In order
words, you will become wiser for just having tried.
Rick Warren, the author of "Purpose Driven Life", writes: "I
could have taken a hundred gift and ability tests as a young man
and would NEVER have discovered that I was gifted at teaching,
because I had never done it! It was only after I began accepting
opportunities to speak that I saw the results, received
confirmation from others and realised God has gifted me to do
this." The same is applicable to every one of us; we never can
tell what we can do unless we try.
So anytime a dream comes to your mind, instead of asking what if
you fail, the question should be: "What if I don't try?" Will
you be able to imagine all the opportunities you will lose?
Unless you are willing to risk getting involved, you are not
going to know what you are good at.
The road to success is never mistake-free, but then neither is
road to failure. So my dear, the choice is yours. I don't know
what it will be like for you when you are on your death bead and
you looked back at how you spent your life and it says: "When it
came time to die, I had not lived!" This is my greatest fear and
it should be your only fear. Will you look back at your life and
be happy or will it be full of regret?
Remember: THE CHOICE IS YOURS!
It is my greatest desire that this will be a year of great
fulfilment for you.
This is to your success this year,
Adebola A. Oni