Doubt

"Gazing at the long, winding road, his eyes, dark, mysterious, and bewildered. Observing each infinitesimal speck of dust in the wind, on the road; looking at the sky, slowly losing its wonderful azure color.

Stumbling upon a rock, he starts to question his ability, his courage deteriorates and the vibrance, which once was in his lips, escapes.

Tired and weary, now, he weeps soulfully. A fog envelops his whole being. His essence, dwindling and his vitality, diminishing. Stuck between a cliff and swift forest fire, he suddenly feels his senses becoming numb. What he will do, no one knows, except one.

Now, the shadows are hovering over him. His eyes, now drooped, looks in the distance, mindlessly. His fears have overwhelmed him. No longer does he know where to go.

A road forked into two, yet still he knows not where to go. Definitely, one leads to success while the other, to devastation. But, doubting his own abilities, he takes none of the roads. Instead, he turns his head around, and walks the other way, back to his misery.

This time, I will not stay here, watching him go downhill. I shall try to bring back the vivid hues of his wonderful spirit and the radiant light, which once emanated from his pulsating heart. Showing him the beauty of life and its course, I persuade his downcast soul. He closes his eyes, clears his mind, and his youthful spirit is restored. He stares at me with eyes open wide, smiling.

Pushing aside the shadows, removing all the fears, casting away any worry or doubt that has troubled him for so long, he goes out into the world, a new man."

I believe many of us have doubted our own abilities and strengths at least once in our lives. When we face a very big problem and fail once, we get our hopes down and oftentimes, we give up. Often, we think too little of ourselves that we give up the opportunities that come our way, thinking that we will not be capable of taking that chance and succeeding in it.

I know it is quite difficult to accept failure. I know it is heartbreaking to see that all your efforts have been wasted. But, the funny thing is, failure is what makes someone stronger. Failure is not there just to mock your weaknesses. They help build character. The obstacles we face each day have their own reason why they give us a hard time. And the reason is so that when they pass, we become better individuals.

If in the beginning, you have already given up before the problem even comes, then how can you emerge a new man? What is the essence of a thousand years of progression, if we will just turn back? What will life be if there were no problems?

I have a hunch that it will be dull. You can look at problems in two ways. They may pose as big mountains that would be too high or too steep to climb. Or you could see them as learning experiences.

That's why, no matter how difficult a problem is, if you have the right mindset, you will be able to overcome it. And even if you fall six times, stand up on the next and keep trying. In the process, you learn new things and you become wise.

I could babble about not giving up and keep trying and I can give numerous quotes about perseverance, dedication, and determination but I would rather share my experiences.

Doubt has always been my problem, especially in schoolwork. I am not the type of person who stays cool under pressure, although I do a good job in hiding my worries. Every time we have to do something that requires more than one skill, or a combination of many skills, that is when I start doubting my abilities.

Questions start to arise from my mind like "Would I be able to do this?", "How will I be able to do this?", "Is there enough time for this?". Usually, I waste most of my time thinking about the answers to these questions, and I end up cramming my work.

So, I thought to myself, "Whatever the outcome may be, I would be happy with it, because it was made by me and it was the best that I am." From then on, I never tried to perfect something instead, I did the best that I am. In other words, I put myself in my work. I express myself through the work that I do, therefore, whatever is the result, that is who I am. And besides, nobody is perfect.

And if I always get stuck with something so difficult beyond my expectations, I just try to recite this verse: "Cast your cares unto the Lord, and He will make your paths straight; He will never let the righteous fall." A very famous psalm and one of my life verses. So, I never have to be worried about any of my problems, because my life is in the palm of His hand.

As Albert Einstein said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new."