It’s Not As Bad As You Think…..

So two days ago, I had this seminar topic to present in my Master's class. I have never been one to settle for less or fail to put in my best (especially when the lecturer involved was one of those lecturers whose name alone sends shivers down your spine, Lol).

So I spent time putting my seminar topic in the best possible shape. I even went the extra mile to furnish my presentation with everything it needed to present itself by itself.

Thursday dawned bright and sunny.
I got to school ready to teach my lecturers and colleagues a branch of International Law that they had never heard before, but more than an hour passed and the lecturer was nowhere to be found for his 2hours class.

We had all given up hope when 30mins to the end of his class, the lecturer strutted in.

Long story made short, I was given less than 10mins to present what I would have done in 30mins.

You need to see the way my mind immediately jumped into reset mode. Resetting, rearranging, deleting, copying and pasting, and finally settling for a shorter version of what I had spent almost a week to prepare for.

Don’t ask me how the presentation went, it just happened.

But because I have this one particular weakness (or maybe not) which was that – I am usually my first critique, I spent the remaining few mins of the class, berating myself on how I failed to achieve my goal, which was to enlighten my course mates.

I was still sulking when a course mate of mine, a high profile officer walked up to me and said, `Nonny, I have always admired the effort you put into all your seminar topics, both on the script and during the presentation. Keep it up, you did well.’’

What! Was he flattering me? But then Mr. XYZ was not one to flatter.
Funny enough, many more compliments came that day, teaching me something of great value- It Is Not Always As Bad As We Think It To Be.

Many times, we unconsciously blow up situations, problems, challenges, or even certain experiences into things they are not.

This causes us to live in a state of depression, failure consciousness, or lethargy, which invariably immobilizes us and keeps us from taking any step into becoming a better us.

This is especially if you are the type that craves perfection like a typical melancholy.

But then, even if it turns out to be as bad as you thought it was, it is important to remind yourself this truth; it is just an experience loaded with many lessons for the future.

Therefore, learn from those lessons, get smarter, and move on.

It never pays you a dime but rather the very opposite for you to continue to live and relive your mistakes and failures.

For as Mary Pickford said, `if you have made mistakes even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down’.