Let us be honest, suffering a major loss can sometimes spur us to pursue greater things and achieve unforeseen sustainable success. No one enjoys experiencing such dark periods. However, if the right choices are made, the usefulness of such calamitous undesirable setbacks can be easily seen over time. With the benefit of hindsight, failure goes with success and it fuels it. On this basis, it is impossible for sustainable and enjoyable success to be attained without experiencing some painful hardships. But then, after much time has passed since the attainment and enjoyment of that success, it is easy to forget the path traversed to attain it. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 31 October 2023.

We want success and enjoy its attainment. Like every other good thing, success is difficult to attain. The road to its attainment is treacherous. Many fell by the way side in their attempt to attain it and eventually gave up their plans. Some, like many a visual artist, never attained “material success” in their lifetime, but gained more recognition and the elusive material success upon their passing. We know what “gives us a kick in life”, and one should not speak for others about what they should consider important in their lives. One thing is certain though, success goes hand in hand with failure and it is impossible for one to experience failure one’s entire life. If anything, everyone will attain some level of success in their lifetime.

And by success, I am not referring to achievements attained in comparison with others, but oneself. I do not know about you, but I strongly believe there is some greater hollowness in comparing oneself with others than oneself. I cannot claim to have evidence or much knowledge of this, but the experiences of others can be a lesson teaching us a thing or two about what we ought to avoid for ourselves. Many reports have revealed cases of seemingly successful people doing “unfathomable things” in spite of their achievements and “successes”. Though we may not judge the thoughts they may have heard before committing those undesirable deeds, it becomes clear that success that does not bring joy and peace cannot be considered success. True success should bring not only joy, but peace of mind. The enjoyment of that peace should spur us to want to improve on that success to attain even better results than our previous ones.

Like good crops, their seed must be planted on good fertile soil, regularly watered and any weeds emerging, regularly removed earlier than being left to grow bigger and threatening the development of good crops. Success is attained from on a good idea based on a patiently well-executed plan with adjustments made regularly to ensure its attainment. Failure, like weeds, comes with little effort and does not require any nurturing. Failure is like a parasite attaching itself to anything good, capitalising on the fertile ground of the good thing to germinate. When left unresolved, failure, like weeds, becomes greater than success that any attempts to eradicate it then could threaten the attainment of success just as getting rid of well-developed weeds can threaten the development of good crops.

Well-laid out plans are nothing when they are ignored once some modicum of success is attained. Human beings are meant to grow and expand, but it is the substance of that expansion that matters. There will always be growth, whether positively or negatively. Our failure worsens when we do not counter its occurrence without delay. That worsening, is growth, albeit negatively. Likewise, our success can be greater if we keep adding to it. But our busy lives often rob us of the opportunity to pay attention to the incremental improvements required to sustain success. We get so engrossed in the busyness of our routine chores, that we hardly make time to attend to other planned activities. Thus, we fail to diversify our chances of additional sustainable success until one day we experience failure. When such failures occur, it is then we remember the importance of diversification and somewhat regret the chances we did not take.

But failure under such circumstances is not coincidental. I am not over-spiritualising things but sometimes failure occurs in our lives as some form of divine intervention to force us to focus on activities we have postponed working on. As mentioned in one previous article, success seemingly follows success. Failure, likewise, follows failure. As if by divine intervention, the only coercive way for our lives to be promoted to the next level is by “forcing” us to focus on those activities we have been postponing to work on. And one such best way being the unleashing of failure to stop us from continuing in the current trajectory by forcing a stoppage. In that way, we would then be forced to try other things and approaches to get back on track and more acceptable situation.

No one wants to experience failure. Failure can bring shame and unnecessary pressures in one’s life. But if the focus is on improving one’s performance as opposed to envying or comparing oneself to others, it becomes easier to ignore pressures from one’s perceptions of what others would say about or think of one. Though undesirable and having been pushed in a corner, after “mourning” for the loss suffered we should quickly accept failure as an inevitable force pushing us to move on to the next level and set of challenges that can result in the attainment of even greater success. When in the thick of things, it becomes difficult to see failure positively. A grateful heart and spirit can ensure that failure can be put in its proper context and turned to a catalyst for the attainment of better things.

I know my utterances may not comfort someone without knowledge of where their next meal would come from. Honestly, we either accept things as they are and do nothing, or we do our best, however little and in small steps we can to ensure failure does not make us permanent victims. Though others could be responsible for putting us in the woeful situation we find ourselves in, history has shown that there might be no one to take us out of it. We should then take greater responsibility for doing all we can to attaining success and improving our lives.

Success is sweeter when it is self-made than inherited or “given”. This does not mean we do not need help or should not be seeking some help from others. No one is an island and as it is written in the good old book, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”