Sometimes, life lessons can come from the most unlikely places. It is strange now when I think of it how as an after-thought so many nuggets of wisdom have come to me in life, those which I cherish and pass on to my son who is going to be thirteen soon. It’s a wonderful feeling when you know someone looks up to you with so much trust and expectation that you feel you ought to keep putting in your best to ensure that you continue to inspire him always.
Of the many things that we spoke about this week, I recall sharing my own moments of defeat and loss with him. Losing challenges, losing battles, losing arguments and losing peace of mind, but more than anything losing my enthusiasm to keep striving to be the best in all that I do. The reason we spoke about this was because he is now getting to a point when his failings are beginning to frustrate him. He has moments of inner turmoil that is part of his growing up anyway and then, coupled with self-introspection, he too tends to be a little hard on himself, somewhat similar to what I’ve been in the past.
The words I said to him were also meant for me as a reminder, because, let’s face it, even the bravest and the most positive person amongst us, has good days and bad days, and these are the words one needs on a bad day, when the inner reserves of positivity appear to be gone. I said to him –
“Sometimes, we need to pause for a while and take a break from whatever it is that we are doing. It is okay to step back and take stock of the situation, recharge ourselves and even grieve for what is gone or irretrievably lost or broken forever. Only make sure it doesn’t end there. Because falling is fine, but we must learn to pick ourselves too. That is precisely the decisive moment when we ought to pull ourselves up by all that we have- our muscles, nerves and sinew and the rest, to get back on our feet. Giving up can never ever be an option in life.”
Leaving you with some wise words from Muhammad Ali that might come in handy for many of us:
Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
What are the two things you do to pull yourself up from despair and loss? Are you the type of person who will pause to take a break or do you fight it out there and then?
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Linking up with #MondayMusings, hosted by Corinne Rodrigues
