Pace the Race or Burn Yourself
View(s):A young man once owned an interesting remote-control airplane, but he was reluctant to fly it in the air as he was afraid that it would tangle on the trees, get damaged and fall down. The fear of it getting damaged and falling prevented him from enjoying the pleasurable experience of flying the plane in the air. Therefore, it was just lying on top of his cupboard with no fulfillment in the purpose he bought it. The cost of the airplane falling and getting damaged was greater than the pleasure of flying it up in the air.
There are some people who do not ride a bike as they are so scared that they might fall and hurt themselves hence they never attempt to ride a bike. For them the cost of falling a few times and getting hurt is greater than enjoying the pleasure of riding and attaining the health benefits that follow. You cannot retain the egg and fry the egg at the same time. Life is full of risks and the degree of the success you achieve will determine the level of attempts you are willing to undergo.
Recently, one of our very close relatives gifted us a brand new induction cooker which was brought down from a foreign land and it was not used for over twenty (20) months. The moment we attempted to use it gleefully, we found that it was not functioning. Later we found out that it happens to certain electronic equipment when they are not used over a period of time. The purpose of purchasing a bike is for riding and not to display at home. Similarly, our lives have a purpose, to love the world and to be loved by the world. If you disconnect yourself from the world, you are not fulfilling the purpose of your existence.
‘Confidence’ is like a high jumper, the more you attempt, the higher you will jump. The less you attempt, the longer you will remain stagnant. All successful people have fallen a countless number of times, yet, they were determined to bounce back again and fly high. If you carefully observe a few unsuccessful people, it is common to see that they are reluctant to attempt because of the fear of falling down. If you do not attempt to fly, you will certainly not fall and everything will look fine in the eyes of others for a short period.
The moment you fall as you attempt to fly, you may not look fine in the eyes of others for a short period but as you actually start flying, the whole world will look upon you as a role model. So, what is your choice? Would you look good for a short period and fail the rest of your life? Or would you look bad for a short period and leave a lasting legacy for the next generation?
When my son started riding his bike on a concrete road, many were not in favour of it, but my wife and I encouraged him, as we believed that the confidence, he gains will be more valuable than the little patch that he might have on his elbow or knee. Today, our son Joshua is ready to face many challenges with great confidence as he accepted the challenge of falling when he attempted to ride.
One of my friends, during his attempt to learn English, readily faced embarrassing comments from our friends. The friends who laughed at him many years ago are thriving hard to earn a few bucks in Sri Lanka, whereas my friend Janaka was able to obtain Permanent Residence in Australia and he is now happily married and has two children. The fear of rejection or in simple terms the fear of not being accepted has stopped many of us from moving forward when we face a challenge. As for those who have never given up on trying, they continue to fly high during their journey of life.
Many people call me and compliment me and say that my articles are very inspiring and they love reading them. But I keep on insisting that reading my articles alone would not mould them to become winners, nevertheless if they walk upon the knowledge they gain by reading the articles, it will take them forward in life. I know of a person who watches an inspirational video each and every day. Yet, he struggles to move forward even amidst a simple hurtful feeling. I gave him a piece of advice to stop watching so many inspirational videos and watch just one per month and walk through the rest of the days in the wisdom he gathered from that single video. I told him that he might drop down many times but he will ultimately master at least one positive attitude.
The world we live in can be compared to a jungle with animals. The dangerous people around us are like wild animals, hence you must advise your children to be well equipped with adequate armoury to face the wickedness of the people and their wicked schemes. Just as you would not be able to lift the required weights unless you train your wrist, forearms and biceps so will it be a difficult task to conquer the battles in the mental realm unless you train your mind regularly. Sometimes, life can become really tough so much so that you may reach a tiresome state. During those tough times, make sure that you cling onto your dreams and become firm without deviating from them.
If you drift away from your focus, then you are bound to be trapped. I am going through a tough challenge at this very moment that I am writing this article but I am so determined not to grumble or mumble nor to drift away from my dreams and goals. I keep quiet today and I remain faithful to my faith with the spirit of not giving up the battle.
You must learn how to pace your life, if not you are certain to burn yourself. No mom would ever feed her newborn solids initially. She will start up with breastmilk and thereafter she will feed him semi-solids and then gradually the baby will be introduced to solids. It will be done step by step as he would eventually learn to digest from one stage to another. Likewise, do not try to run too hard at the beginning of the marathon, as you will lose the energy and stamina you possess to reach your final destination, which is the most important part.
You may have heard of this incident that took place about twenty five (25) years ago, some young Sri Lankans died in their attempt to trespass the European borders inside a container. Even though it was illegal, the reason they could not complete the task was because they could not plan their food and energy for the course, they ran out of food. You ought to categorise your battles. Some invest their entire energy to fight a battle with their neighbour with regard to a small branch that has fallen to one of their lands. Save your energy for the most important battles in life. No team will allocate their prime players for an insignificant match. Once you have drained your entire energy on a useless fight, you will be left with no energy to fight the important battles in life.
People used to talk bad about me behind my back when I was trying so hard to come up in my life. I thought to myself that I should not battle them as they were not competitors to me. I knew that my real competition was with myself and not anyone else. If you have mastered the art of taming your own self, then, you have already won life’s battles partially. In most of my articles I have mentioned this fact, that your worst enemy is no one else but yourself. Therefore, identify the battles and pace the attack accordingly. There are battles that you should not battle at all but just bypass it with a lovely smile on your face.
Some people crash themselves by driving their vehicles at 100kmph on roads where the speed limit is 40kmph, as similarly some people drive at 50kmph on the highway and they interrupt the drivers who follow, moreover by not reaching their desired speed at the necessary moment. Make sure that you handle your struggles wisely, do not burn out your energy when your children make simple mistakes at home because you may need that energy to perform well at an office where you have more important targets to reach. Do not sell your peace of mind early in the morning when a three wheeler driver overtakes you, whereas you should have retained that peace to remain calm during the pressures you come across at work.
For comments: e-mail –
philipnehri@chandanalepa.lk /
voice – 0779 526 496
HitAd.lk is the best and biggest mobile phone market in Sri Lanka, and we guarantee you will find what you need here from our extensive listing of mobile phones for sale in Sri Lanka. Whether it’s a budget-priced smartphone for communication, or higher end features with advanced connectivity, there are many different options from which to choose from on our site!