A FAILED ATTEMPT IS BETTER THAN NO ATTEMPT AT ALL
Every so often in life, we make wrong choices, wrong decisions or just fail to accomplish or achieve a set target. It is human and perfectly alright. But beyond there, the situation may take many directions and dimensions depending on what we opt to do after the set back. There those of us who may chose to sulk and blame themselves for the situation for days on end, others may engage the panic mode, and in an attempt to clear the mess, make matters worse. There yet others who will be quick enough to acknowledge that they have fallen, pick themselves up, beating the dust off their garments and move on. When we are faced by such trying moments in our lives, we can learn a lot from this hyena in an African fable.
A story is told of a hyena who went hunting. For the whole day his efforts did not yield much. At sun set, he gave up and was heading home a dejected hyena. He was making a silent prayer to god though: “Please god, do not let me spend a cold night on an empty stomach.”
Along the same path, a man who was walking home from a drinking spree had fallen in a drunken stupor.
On seeing the man, the hyena knew his prayer had been answered. He immediately grabbed his “manna” and tugged him homewards for dinner.
A short distance further on, out of thirst and exhaustion, the hyena deposited his catch in a nearby thicket and rushed to a stream nearby for a drink. It is then that the drunkard came to, got up and tottered home. On returning from the stream, the hyena was dumbstruck to find his precious catch missing. He could not understand how in such a short time he could have lost the most precious thing to him at the moment. He was sure of where he had left his catch. But just to be sure, he retraced his steps to the stream, took a sip as he had done and returned only to find it still missing.
“I left it here, rushed to the stream this way,” he traced his steps to the stream, “drunk some water like I am doing now,” he took a sip again, “and came back the same way,” as he retraced his steps to the thicket, only to find the reality of the missed opportunity staring at him.
The hyena was at it making trips back and forth, taking a sip from the stream and returning in the hope that he would find it somehow, but every time the situation was the same. It was not until the moon was up that it dawn on him he had wasted precious time that he would have put to better use before darkness had fallen.
We often find ourselves in similar situations like this hyena. We want to waste precious moments and efforts moaning over the lost opportunities, burying our heads in the sand in the hope that something will happen and things will be better.
A failed attempt, a lost opportunity, a wrong decision, may leave a dent in your emotional, financial or other status. But the best way out is to pick up the pieces and make a fresh start. At least you are one more experience richer.When we fail, it means we made an attempt in the first place, and a failed attempt is better than no attempt at all.
A story is told of a hyena who went hunting. For the whole day his efforts did not yield much. At sun set, he gave up and was heading home a dejected hyena. He was making a silent prayer to god though: “Please god, do not let me spend a cold night on an empty stomach.”
Along the same path, a man who was walking home from a drinking spree had fallen in a drunken stupor.
On seeing the man, the hyena knew his prayer had been answered. He immediately grabbed his “manna” and tugged him homewards for dinner.
A short distance further on, out of thirst and exhaustion, the hyena deposited his catch in a nearby thicket and rushed to a stream nearby for a drink. It is then that the drunkard came to, got up and tottered home. On returning from the stream, the hyena was dumbstruck to find his precious catch missing. He could not understand how in such a short time he could have lost the most precious thing to him at the moment. He was sure of where he had left his catch. But just to be sure, he retraced his steps to the stream, took a sip as he had done and returned only to find it still missing.
“I left it here, rushed to the stream this way,” he traced his steps to the stream, “drunk some water like I am doing now,” he took a sip again, “and came back the same way,” as he retraced his steps to the thicket, only to find the reality of the missed opportunity staring at him.
The hyena was at it making trips back and forth, taking a sip from the stream and returning in the hope that he would find it somehow, but every time the situation was the same. It was not until the moon was up that it dawn on him he had wasted precious time that he would have put to better use before darkness had fallen.
We often find ourselves in similar situations like this hyena. We want to waste precious moments and efforts moaning over the lost opportunities, burying our heads in the sand in the hope that something will happen and things will be better.
A failed attempt, a lost opportunity, a wrong decision, may leave a dent in your emotional, financial or other status. But the best way out is to pick up the pieces and make a fresh start. At least you are one more experience richer.When we fail, it means we made an attempt in the first place, and a failed attempt is better than no attempt at all.
By Nicholas Mawi
Connection33.com
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