Have you ever failed before? It is not an experience you want to look forward to. And since there are only two probable outcomes of any venture you undertake in life, many would rather not try than fail again. We even arm ourselves with excuses not to try again; we use maxims like this one; 'Once bitten, twice shy'.
Something bit me recently. A wasp. I was somewhere and the insect flew in. I began to aim severally at it and I kept missing. At last I was able to strike the now troubled wasp with the weapon I was holding and somehow on its way to theground, it touched my exposed ankle and stung me. Instantly I felt the sting. I lost balance immediately. That wasp must have used all the venom left in it as it got that singular opportunity to hit me back. My only joy at the instance of that initial pain was that the wasp lay dead on the ground. But I limped on that leg for the next twenty four hours. Such was the fury of one wasp bite. The sting (or is it stigma?) of failure last more days, you know. It stays for years even. It is so difficult to get over the sting of failure. Everyone seems to see you in the light of what you failed in. Failure stings (or sticks) badly. And every time you get the opportunity to try again, you fear you might fail again. You are shy to try again.
Well, a few days later, I saw another wasp. (Now, I have no 'wasp-attractor' on me. I think there was going to be a lesson from a wasp bite, and I did not miss it). So, another day, I saw another wasp. Just about the same setting. My mind went back to that sting. I did not want to experience that pain one more time. That maxim came to my mind; once bitten, twice shy. But a second thought came to my mind; once bitten can be twice wise. What if that was a way not to kill a wasp. I calmed down and I killed the wasp with ease. Maybe you would say I should have sprayed an insecticide. But what is important in my experience is; I did not shy away because I was bitten once. I gained wisdom instead. This is the thought-process that must have invented the insecticide. This is the thought-process that would make your journey full of victory.
The only person who never fails is God. He is the most successful being ever. You can judge a man's success or failureby his works or results. Okay, let's check God out as humanly speaking as possible. God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1:1 and in verse 2 the earth was void and without form. In Genesis 2, God made man and in chapter 3, man fell. By the 6th chapter, He had to destroy everyone saving just one family, and He wiped all things away, save for an ark and the things that were in there. By the 11th chapter of the first book, men effectively mobilized against God. In chapter 12, God decided to begin again step by step with another man, Abraham. Even then, I could go on and on with God appearing not to be getting it right with this bundle of clay He breathed into. Be human, just how successful would you rate God’s adventure with man? But did He give up? He had to devise a way to be man, and to die. He paid the ultimate price. Even then, did He give up? What are you learning from this relentless God? Why do you ever think of giving up? See what He said in Isaiah 62:1; ‘For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace. And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest…’.
If God would keep at a thing, why should I not? I often tell myself 'the journey is as important as the destination'. Why don't we just enjoy the bends and turns on our way to our dream? No generation can be too sophisticated to learn from Thomas Edison . Edison failed and failed in his quest for the patent innovation of the light bulb. He was reported to have tried and failed up to one thousand times on that single project. Yet, not only electric bulb, he has more than 1,050 patents for other inventions. How many times did he fail at each of those over 1,050 inventions? And we all have 24 hours in a day!
What have you tried? What have you failed at? What have you given up on? Trial and Error is an accepted method of invention, and every invention has error rates that can be improved upon. Why not settle down to work and embrace failure as the opportunity to try again more intelligently. You can refuse to allow another person take the glory by learning from your failure, you can learn from your own failure. Finish what you started. Do not accept too many 'Nos' in life. You can succeed at anything you have failed at.
If it bit you and did not kill you, kill it next time.
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