In today’s era of instant gratification, pursuit of early wins and so-called “low hanging fruits”, many no longer seem to have the energy to face challenges, endure hard times and find ways to overcome difficulties without taking the “easier” route. Understandably, one’s confidence and belief can be severely shaken when seemingly, an alternative and an easier escape become available. Tempting and ringing in one’s head would be comments such as “Why reinvention of the wheel or traversal of the narrow and difficult route where many failed to find success when some relief and success could be found from pursuit of normal activities many have found refuge in”.
Knowing that no method, be it the tried and tested or yours could offer any guarantees, which would be better, persisting in pursuing the ordinary approach or your strongly desired path? Either way, efforts for such decision would require some persistence for attainment of goals. The real question is, on what will that persistence be based? By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 November 2022.
A good decision is one taken from a conviction rather than the emotion it invokes. Though not a rule, I have found that good decisions carry ultimate truths or good principles but do not often make one feel good when making them. I also found that decisions later to be regretted in life often question truths and invoke a good feeling at the time they are made, of one having done the right thing. However, there will always be that lingering doubt afterwards, later turning into sustained remorse. I would rather deal with a decision causing me anxieties where truth and principle are the foundation, than one causing me to deny the truth and opt for experiencing a good feeling.
For far-reaching decisions, I tend to treat emotions as a tool for testing my resolve and pragmatism of the approach chosen and not as a catalyst for decision-making. I would then use truth and principle as my guide and conviction about the decision I need to make. I would then try to use pragmatism derived from emotions to guide my activities towards attainment of the goals the decision is meant to enable. I do not always get it right, nor win. I have experienced many failures and have learnt many valuable lessons. Life is full of surprises, setbacks, misses, misdirection and disruptions. These would either reinforce your resolve to persist in the pursuit of your dreams, or make you give up and change course. Such change in direction often means a complete change in the goals pursued.
If one could change direction at the slightest of provocation, what assurance is there that there would be no other change in course at the next experience of difficulties? Such regular changes in direction cause confusion and result in wastage of time, and ultimately in dismal failure. To avoid such confusion, regrets and wastage of time, better remain on course and add temporary solutions that act as “detours” while remaining on course, to offer some relief against severe challenges and hardship. In this way, there will be persistence in the pursuit of original goals while acknowledging setbacks along the way that can be mitigated by temporary “detours”. This approach is more likely to result in the attainment of lasting success than other approaches would.
An adage attributed to Albert Einstein defines insanity as “… doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Problem is, many people do not even consider “detours” or test the validity of the principles or if their beliefs are premised on the truth rather than aspirations, dreams and wishes when it has become apparent over time that success has become elusive. They stubbornly refuse to change or add anything else to ensure attainment of goals, and often expect “things or success to come to them”. Such people would ever attain any success despite South Africa being the land of (many) possibilities.
Whatever the course one decides to take, we are advised in the good ancient book, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it”? We would do well heeding this advice, for it has been proved correct over time in this life and many before. From this we learn that nothing would come easily, even those things considered the norm. You may be that odd one experiencing problems at every turn when everything goes swimmingly for others. The secret to success in all these and avoiding becoming ordinary is persistence in the pursuit of goals based on truth and conviction. Otherwise, be content with becoming ordinary or a beneficiary of some benevolence from sympathisers.
