Don't Give Up

Let us look at this illustration and paint a picture in our minds eye. One day at home, I had just finished washing my clothes and the bathtub was still wet. I noticed an ant trying to climb out of the tub. Due to the slippery nature of the tub the ant kept falling. It kept climbing all the time although it ended up falling. After many efforts, it finally made its way out.

Bringing it home, we should be just like that ant. Falling in life does not mean we should remain on the wet ground. We should keep struggling to make it on to the dry land. Falling is not the problem but what you do after a fall is what matters. Do you stay there in the wet grass and develop a cold or do you pick a lesson from your fall and climb again.

“He who falls by his foot shall rise again; he who falls by his mouth shall not rise” {African (Efik) proverb}.

Here, falling by the foot represents the efforts you make in climbing. If you fall in the process of climbing, you will definitely rise and eventually succeed. It is all a matter of persistence. Anyone who gives up without a fight is not worthy to receive whatever reward he was supposed to get at the end of the ‘fight’. Falling by the mouth represents those who when they fall would rather sit there in the wet grass and keep giving excuses for their fall. Anyone who always has an excuse to back up a failure can never succeed. If they could use just half of the energy they use in thinking up these excuses in climbing there is no reason why they would not get to the dry ground.

“Experience makes men wise”. The essence of falling is so you can learn from the fall. Falling becomes a disaster when you are not able to discover the mistake you made which lead to your fall. By avoiding that mistake, you become a better climber and your chances of succeeding increase by the second.

“It is not by spectacular achievements that man can be transformed, but by will”.

Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906). That is the secret of success. When in a mess trying to remember past successes does not help. Your will is all it takes, the will to persevere. Are you willing to persevere for as long as it will take you to achieve your aim? Keep climbing and keep learning, never give up!

(By Nnenne for YWAP Ota)