“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Probably the most discouraging thing is to repeat mistakes. We all have great intentions of kicking a bad habit or behaving in a different way but many times we resort to the familiar response and again regret our transgression. We beat ourselves up about it later. We blame our lack of will power and doubt we will ever have a strong enough resolve.
I am also one of those people who tries again and again to do what I think is right but many times I fail. Many times I think I should just forget it because I am incapable of changing but then the old conscious kicks in and begs me to make another attempt which I do. As I reflect over the years on my efforts, I realize that some higher power is at work in my life. My trials have become more difficult not easier. I do get closer to my objectives but find my goal still a bit out of reach.
It is at that moment that I realized that the temptations have had an increase of energy. It then occurred to me that maybe as I passed one trial I have had an escalation in intensity. Just maybe with each step in the right direction and honorable path, I am encouraged to keep going further. In order to perfect my responses and goals I am being fine tuned.
I am not sure about this but it appears that way to me. Of course along the route there are numerous failures too numerous to count. What I am trying to say is maybe just maybe we are all making progress even when we can’t see any movement toward the finish line. It is never about succeeding on the first second or thousandth time. It has more to do with faith and hope.
It’s about maintaining the effort to keep trying that counts. If we do not keep attempting then we’ll never succeed and basically we have already lost. A tiny move is worth more than no attempt whatsoever. The message is clear to never give up. We totally lose when we do give up. If we have a temper and yell very loudly then the next time we are angry and our voice is a noise level lower, we have made progress.
Maybe we control our voice for a longer period of time before we resort to the yelling. Even that is good effort. We may still be yelling quite loudly but the knowledge that we tried is there with us and a reminder that we are aware of our battles. Isn’t half the battle the knowledge that we admit our faults (at least some) and begin to challenge ourselves to alter our behaviors?
Impatience is a noteworthy challenge. There are always those people in our lives who provoke our anger. If we observe the times we maintain self control we have one a battle. It takes many battles to win a war and sometimes years to finish a war. Stop noticing the wrongs and focus on the many small triumphs. The mistakes will appear overwhelming thereby demolishing our endeavors.
To clear a garden of rocks or weeds we begin removing one at a time. Sure a field will take us even longer to overcome just as an ingrained bad habit. It doesn’t mean it can’t be accomplished. It means it will take a bit longer.
Stop belittling yourselves. Pat yourself on the back every time you put effort into correcting a fault. Rejoice every time your attempts make even the slightest progress. Rejoice even if you attempted. It’s not the destination as much as the ride to it. You become a better person simply because you made the attempt.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Chinese Proverb
“No one is ever beaten, unless he gives up the fight.” W. Beran Wolfe
“The best rosebush after all is not that which has the fewest thorns but that which bears the finest roses.” Henry Van Dyke
