Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Failure and resilience

I guess we can all relate to this situation at some point in our lives: when we can't take it anymore and are on the verge of giving up. We try so hard, but never get very far. We work our hardest, but never achieve what we hope to. Past experience inhibits us, planting seeds of doubt into our minds, of whether we are capable of achieving what we set out to do in spite of the fact that we try our hardest and do our best.

But as we stumble and fall, we learn to pick ourselves back up and try again. Something I guess what everyone struggles with is trying again so many times, yet missing the mark each and every time. All the blood, sweat and tears all come down to nothing. Demoralising as it is, it's understandable when people finally decide to give up and pursue another goal, something worth their time and effort, knowing that they will reap whatever benefits lie at the end.

Psychologically, failure hits you hard every single time. Some people are resilient, and find it easy to bounce back from failure and try again. Others not so much; for them, repeated failure simply indicates an inability to achieve something, and so it makes sense for them to move on to other goals worth investing their time and effort in.

Perhaps, resilience comes from that little voice in your head saying:
"Never give up. Not now, not ever."
"You can do it. Pick yourself up and just try again."
"Have a little faith. Not necessarily in a higher power, but in your abilities, and in the fact that everything be okay in the end."
"Do your best, and leave the rest."

You may fall many times, but you can always pick yourself back up. Don't lose hope, and don't lose faith. But most of all, don't give up, and don't look back.


Ali in the Jungle - The Hours

It's not how you start, it's how you finish,
And it's not where you're from, it's where you're at

Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna get up?
How quick are you gonna get up?
Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna get up?
Just how are you gonna get up?

Like Ali in the jungle,
Like Nelson in jail,
Like Simpson on the mountain,
With odds like that, they were bound to fail
Like Keller in the darkness,
Like Adams in the dark,
Like Ludwig Van, how I loved that man, well the guy went deaf and didn't give a fuck, no
No, no, no

It's not where you are, it's where you're going
Where are you going?
And it's not about the things you've done, it's what you're doing now
What are you doing now?

Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna get up?
How quick are you gonna get up now?
Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna get up?
Just how are you gonna get up?

Like Ali in the jungle,
Like Nelson in jail,
Like Simpson on the mountain,
Well with odds like that, they were bound to fail
Like Keller in the darkness,
Like Adams in the dark,
Like Ludwig Van, how I loved that man, well the guy went deaf and didn't give a fuck, no
No, no, no
No, no, no

It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback
It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback
The greatest comeback...