Not in anger or frustration but with the assurance of victory… FIGHT IT ‘Why is this thing so hard for me to achieve? It must be a sign that I should leave it.’ Have you ever said this in the face of a major disappointment? Are you on the brink of giving up on something? Let’s read Chinedu’s story and talk about it.
‘I am so tired of this,’ Chinedu thought, as he got into the car. He was on his way for music lessons. He had been learning to play the trumpet for 5 weeks and he still couldn’t play a single song. His eleventh birthday was coming up in a few months and he wanted to be able to play a song dedicated to his mum that day. He was surprised on his first day of class when his teacher asked him to bring out a pen and paper to learn the names of notes, finger numbers and so on before even touching an instrument. The thing that annoyed him the most was that his classmate Tobi started piano lessons in another music school at about the same time as him. ‘Tobi can already play 3 full songs while I have just started practicing my first notes. It’s so annoying.’ When he got to music school that day, he blurted out to Mr. Angus, ‘Tobi’s teacher is not bothering him with note reading and all these hard things, he is just teaching him the songs directly, why can’t we make this short and do the same thing?’
Mr. Angus replied, ‘Chinedu, Tobi is learning how to play a songs, but you are learning how to play the trumpet.’
After many more lessons, Chinedu’s birthday finally arrived and he announced that he wanted to play a love song for his mum. She was elated as he played 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston. As he finished, tears welled in his mum’s eyes and she grabbed him for a big hug. After the applause died down, his dad smiled and jokingly said,
"I’m jealous oh. Could you play my favourite song? Did your teacher teach you how to play it too?’ Chinedu had never played that song before, but with a big grin on his face he searched online for the sheet music of his dad’s favourite song, ‘You Raise Me Up’ and then he turned and cheekily replied,
"Dad, lucky for you, I didn’t learn how to play songs, I learnt how to play the trumpet."
Many times when something seems too difficult to achieve, we decide that it is ‘because it was never meant to be.
It is true, that sometimes, good things come with a little effort. Still, there are times when the difficulty you face is the proof that you are doing something right.
After all, it is easier to give up than to keep fighting, it is easier to cheat, than to study to pass your exams. Can anyone say that it is not easier to sleep than to wake up at dawn every morning to get ready for work? It is even easier to offer ‘eye-service’ than to actually do your job. Shortcuts can be good but some shortcuts rob us of everything we should gain from an experience, a job or a challenge. Truthfully, easy doesn’t mean better, neither does difficult.
What matters is that you know where you are going, and what you need to do in order to get there, whether it is easy or hard. Please, don’t give up, don’t let go and don’t look down on yourself. Always be willing to put in the hard work and smart work that is required to get what you deserve and desire.
After you have done what I suggested in my other post FILL IT, here is my advice:
Is difficulty making you to consider giving up on your dreams? Fight It
Is the fear of failure stopping you from reaching for the stars? Fight it
Are you considering a shortcut that will rob you of the opportunity to build yourself? Ignore It
If you want something and it is good and legitimate… Get It
If no one will encourage you… Encourage Yourself
Whatever you do, remember that a difficulty that you overcome will always build you and make you stronger and it can only overcome you if you refuse to FIGHT IT
See you in my next post. Please remember to post comments and questions. I love to read from you
Thank you