Failure and Hope

The word failure is often the unwelcome guest of our stories and sometimes its presence is so heavy that it extinguishes the light of hope in our hearts.  It is up to us to fight it.

Every failure begins with our daily problems, and if we do not face them, we will end up failing.  However, this is not enough! First, we have to have hope, for it is hope that acts as a shield against our problems and leads to victory and success. Ever since childhood, our successes and victories have always been praised and considered important, yet failure doesn’t always mean defeat!  There are failures in life that can be considered victories. They lead to new experiences and make us stronger.

This can be seen in the life stories of those who overcame every obstacle to reach their goals and realise their dreams.  These are people that everyone admires and whose names trigger a burst of energy in our bodies. Just like everyone else, they could have become worn-out, they could have cried and given up.  Yet, they fell down seven times and got up eight. Each time they fell, they put aside their fatigue and despair, planting instead the seeds of hope in their hearts; they looked ahead and got up again, proving that failure is the stepping stone to success. Those people crossed through the darkness of night to make it to daylight.  Without hope, they would have lost their way and would not have been able to carry on to reach their goals. In effect, by holding on to hope, they defeated failure. If you look at their lives and talk to them, you will realise that the most important lesson you can learn from them is to always have hope.

Without hope, life would simply be a repetition of events.  Having hope is the best feeling; it can restore life in you and keep you strong, reinforcing the foundations of your existence.  Therefore, always be hopeful. If you feel you are losing hope, reach out and talk to positive people. Hope is contagious; you can get it from others and bring it into your life.  Hope is the best feeling that can bring joy into your life.

The world would be nothing without hope.  Imagine people who are terminally ill, or struggling with addiction, or who are physically disabled.  What would happen if they lost hope? No doctor or medicine would be able to save them. Hopelessness and despair would spread through society.  That’s why it is better to look at life from a different perspective and change the way we see things. We should not concentrate so much on the problems in our lives, making them bigger than they really are, because we risk losing ourselves.

Although it is correct to say that we have to face our problems so that we don’t fail, this is an ongoing endeavour that sometimes includes failure and defeat.  Life would be so much more enjoyable if we each felt some responsibility towards the person next to us and gave them hope whenever we felt they needed it, even if it’s the only thing we can offer.  Sometimes a single smile is all it takes. If only we could simply drink a cup of love and optimism every morning, allowing it to bathe us in a sea of hope! Have hope and rest assured that it will lead you to the shores of peace and prosperity.

Mohammad Sharif Rahmani

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