Don't quit!

The majestic Mt Everest

There is a Malay saying "sedikit-dikit lama-lama jadi bukit". It says that you should not underestimate your efforts, no matter how small they are, for little by little, it will grow to become a hill. Or a mountain. I read a motivational poem on Ladan's website. It's a poem I haven't seen for a while. It is a poem that encourages you not to quit. Be sure to go to Ladan's post to read how she had to overcome initial setbacks and disappointments, and prevailed through perseverance and hard work.

When asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, the late Sir Edmund Hillary replied, "Because it is there." Sometimes our lives may appear like a huge Mt Everest to us. We are easily intimidated by its sheer size and magnificence and before we even get started, we have already given up hope.

Let me give you an example. Say you are preparing for your final exams. You see the huge load of material you have to cover and you start to get nervous. Instead of working on the subjects, you go somewhere and do other things - maybe play games, go shopping, watch TV, go chit-chat, surf the net etc. You tell yourself that when you are done with these things, you will get back to study. Okay, then you sit down for a couple of minutes and flip through a few more pages. Before long, your mind starts to wonder again and you leave to do something else again. After the day or week ends, you start to regret because you realized you have wasted your precious time.

Is this familiar to you? This is called procrastination. It is one of the major reasons why people don't achieve their goals.

You know, one way to get out of this situation is to try and look at things on a scale that you can cover first. For example, you can tell yourself to finish something in one hour first. When you have completed that, you will feel happy about yourself and more confident about your ability to accomplish your task. Little by little, you can add more hours to your routine. Before you know it, you have already finished all your revision and are fully prepared for your exams.

So, do things one at a time. That way, you have better chance of finishing them.

When I climbed Mt Kinabalu in my hometown, I just focus on the path in front of me. I enjoyed each and every climb that I did. Once, I even piggybacked my younger sis but I could only make 10 steps because the oxygen level was low at the summit. My good friend from Seremban, despite using all four limbs, also prevailed - passing the 11000ft mark. So, no matter how hard life seems, try to enjoy the challenges that it brings - don't quit, persevere and when you reached the top, enjoy the fruits of your success.
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Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill

When funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh

When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As everyone of us sometimes learns

And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt

And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you must NOT QUIT!

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