“Don't worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.” — Jack Canfield
"Why don't you also try?". That is the question I asked myself this morning as I sat at my office desk typing the minute of a meeting I just attended. I was talking to myself again, "why don't you try?".
I have seen Ads on competitions - short story writing, essay writing, graphics challenge, video editing challenge and on and on and on. I have seen social media post from people who I suppose "are making things happen in their lives" compared to me participating in competitions and regularly coming out as winners.
Their story inspires me. It does. In a way that makes me sometimes beat myself up for not doing much with my life. (Sad right?)
Now I am also asking you that same question I was asking myself this morning as I wrote that minutes of meeting, Why don't you also try winning that essay writing competition?. Why don't you also try out in that debate? Why don't you also try out the short story writing competition? Why don't you also try out the music competition? Why don't you also try out that 'whatever-you-are-good-at' things you get to hate yourself at the end of the day for not trying out? Why haven't you tried out that relationship yet? Why don't you try out for that new job role?
I think I know the answer and I will tell you shortly why. But let me tell you this first, you have to agree to be honest with yourself like I was this morning when giving an answer to the question of "why not also try?".
I believe that being honest with yourself and telling yourself the truth will help you get better results that living a lie. It is either you are here or not. It is either you are intentional about your results or not. There are no grey areas in life and it is sad most people don't know it. Maybe, I'll write about that some other day.
So, why don't you also try? To be honest, somewhere deep down - maybe so deep that it is buried under a lot of ruse - YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN'T WIN! Deep down you believe your a loser and that if you tired, you'll come out a failure. You believe deep down that if you tried and failed, you will be mocked for failing. You tell yourself these and many more stories to sooth yourself.
Most people who have succeeded even with the worst of condition just as yours have done so not because they were dealt that card they had hoped for. but instead the took the card they were dealt and played their hand. And it was not a feeble attempt at success.
Here is the thing, time is running out. You are telling yourself you’ll do it when you settle down and get married, when you get divorced, when the kids are older, when the kids are not living at home anymore.
When you end up where you don’t want to be, you will remember that there was a day like today when you could see ahead clearly, you knew what you wanted from life. You were ready to start. But just not today. Maybe tomorrow. Life gets in the way. A few years pass by. You look in the mirror. Your face has a few more lines. Your hair is either white or gone.
One can work with the physical changes, you can still vaguely recognise yourself. But the changes in your mind take some time to get used to. You try to rationalise to yourself and all you feel is regret. I should have.
Try! Also try! Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. It was Mark Twain who said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
