I am not trying to coin a new term here. I saw a poster recently with a big title LEARN TO SWIM.
As I read the small and simple poster of a swimming instructor to get more students, it occurred to me that it is more important to learn to sink than to learn to swim
We live in a world today that we are conditioned in all aspects to endeavour to be the very best. If possible, to be perfect.
In life, however, too many factors are beyond control of us mortal beings. Much as we plan to succeed, I feel it is realistic (and not pessimistic) to be able to fail.
Great inventors fails thousands of attempts before the last one to exclaim,"Eureka!". I, for one, get easily discouraged when my attempts are not up to the mark, or not well received.
So I tell myself, much as I can swim in the waters of life, I hope to be able to sink at times, and still stay alive.
As I read the small and simple poster of a swimming instructor to get more students, it occurred to me that it is more important to learn to sink than to learn to swimWe live in a world today that we are conditioned in all aspects to endeavour to be the very best. If possible, to be perfect.
In life, however, too many factors are beyond control of us mortal beings. Much as we plan to succeed, I feel it is realistic (and not pessimistic) to be able to fail.
Great inventors fails thousands of attempts before the last one to exclaim,"Eureka!". I, for one, get easily discouraged when my attempts are not up to the mark, or not well received.
So I tell myself, much as I can swim in the waters of life, I hope to be able to sink at times, and still stay alive.
32 Ripples:
Hi water Learner,
'....Great inventors fails thousands of attempts before the last one to exclaim,"Eureka!"...
Yes but they did not loose patience at the time of failure..
Tolerance and patience too are sterling qualities. Like the seat-cushions or the buffer springs, they work as shock-absorbers in life. One who has these can withstand great hardships and bumps.
A good post.Thanks for sharing.
God bless.
Hi Karen,
Very true! It is important to learn to stay alive in times of failures. There are great lessons in failures if we really learn from it instead of getting defeated.
"It is alright to try and fail, but don't fail to try!"
Blessings
Let's Acquire Wisdom and Live with Passion
NICE POST!!!
I've always thought that we learn more from failures than from victories, anyway he he he...
Or... maybe what we think are failures are actually successes, just not the kind we think about.
When we think we failed at something, we actually succeeded in knowing what not to do, or how not to do something, or what is not in our best interest! (smile)
I think it was Thomas Edison who tried for a thousand times to get his lightbulb to work... he didn't think of each attempt as a failure but as one more way that brought him closer to his discovery!
:-)
Nice to think and ponder with you my friend,
Jennifer
Failures make us stronger and we learn not to repeat the same mistakes and allows us to focus on God even more.
It is throught sinking that we learn to keep ourselves alive & become stronger. Thanks for the great reminder. Nice pic to go along again :)
Janice Ng
Hi Surjit!
Yes. I agree! In fact, I very strongly feel that one of a very important aspect in school for children is Failure Management. The emotional aspect of it. Too often, schools condition children to fly that very high. Very often in life, one would instead be at a position that is very low. At such points, the emotionally & spiritually weak will very likely break.
My humble views.
Hi Sam,
Indeed, there are great lessons to learn from failures. Do not fear failures. For they might have more important lessons for us than successes.
Thanks for your views.
Hi Amel!
Thanks for your comments! I really appreciate it!
Hi Jenn!
Yes .. Failures teach us one very important lesson - What NOT to do!
Thanks for your comments! I appreciate it!
Have a Good Week Ahead Jenn!
Hi Judd!
You are right, with the right mindset and attitude, failures in fact give us strength. A stronger person.
Thanks for your comments!
Hi Jan!
I agree! Difficult moments that make us feel like we are sinking into deep mud are inevitable in life. During such moments, the deepest fears in us (that we might not even be aware of) will surface.
Hence, I strive to take failures like a mirror, for me to see my deepest fears.
Mirror Mirror on the Wall,
What's my darkest fears of them all?
Blessings to you Jan!
By the way, we are all here to keep your company while your hubby is away for business trip for one week! Remember, Absence makes the Heart grow fonder.
I don't see things in terms of winning and losing. Also, the way I envision success is a bit different than the standard way of thinking.
When you strive for perfection you miss the essence of what it means. When we look for that "eureka" moment we are seeting ourselves up for failure.
None of my goals have a final destination. It is the journey I am here for. I do have little goals which I accomplish along the way. These only lead to other goals. One accomplishment is another step to discovering new goals. If I fail in one area, I win in another.
Sinking and swimming are just like the natural ebb and flow of life itself. Both ups and downs become steps to climbing higher and higher in our journey.
I actually love to fall. It is where I learn to get back up.
Just like Yin & Yang, light & dark;
two sides of the same coin. There is not much difference between winning and losing because they are really much more similar than different! You cannot have one without the other.
I expect both. They are the journey of life itself. Thanks Karen! There you go making me think again!!!!!
Hi Bobby!
Thanks for your enlightening words. They have given much more depth to my shallow writings. Indeed, Ying & Yang, Light & Darkness are two sides to the same coin called Life. If we wish to embrace life fully, we must learn to accept and treasure the two sides.
Bobby! You are the Think Tank yourself with seeds of wisdom in you. I hope that my humble post can be the humble rain waters to help your good seeds grow.
Cheers Bobby! Have a Good Week Ahead!
Karen, you are far from shallow and I enjoy coming to swim in these DEEP waters here at WaterLearner!
You are so noble and humble. It is a very charming trait that I enjoy in all of your work:)
I want to share my favorite saying which i deemed to be related to this post: "From the ashes of my failures shall rise the empire of my success."
Hi Bobby!
You over-complimented me. Thanks for your kind words! I really appreciate your visits.
Blessings!
Hi Keglar747,
Thanks for highlighting this good saying. It has indeed added more depth to my humble post.
Blessings to you. I look forward to your visit again.
Thanks for sharing. In life we sink and we learn to swim better so that we wonk sink easily. Therefore, learning to sink will make us a better person. Life is full of suprises and uncertainties, we must not sink but make us stronger :)
Hi Karen...
Love this post a lot. We must always remind ourselves that failure is the key to success. Thanks for posting this! Been reading it repeatedly. =)
Haha, your picture so cute.
Anyway, even in tuition sometimes the methods will fail, or the results will disappoint. But ultimately, they happen to help you, not kill you! After all, bad results/unsuccessful methods hasn't killed me :P
Take care, thanks for going over to Eatyourmaths to say hi!
Eatyourmaths
Hi Karen, I like this post also. I used to procrastinate and are unwilling to take the risk.
I don't want to stay in my comfort zone all the time. We have only one life and there are so many things to do and see, people to love and cherish...
These days i just throw the hat over, enjoy the process (it is easier said than done) and take baby steps. If it is successful, i will treasure it more. If not, i will take it as an experience that enriches my life.
Thanks for always supporting me when the loading speed of my old site and providing words of encouragement for my new one. Cheers!
Hi Sam,
Indeed! Learning to sink and still hang in there when we are at rock bottom low is an important lesson to learn in life.
Hi Nafa!
Thanks for your comments! Yes, Failure well-learnt will guide us to a more splended success. The key is determination and endurance.
Blessings to you!
Hi Winston!!
Thanks for coming by! Indeed we should make use of setbacks in life. Life from setbacks in an honest and down-to-earth manner. We can indeed benefit from them.
Hey .. When you putting up a new post for us who are not your students huh?
Hi MT!
Indeed! Not being fearful of mistakes and failures will make one more adventurous in taking risks in life!
By the way, I like your new site. Very professional. What I really like about is it's loading time. Don't worry, it will climb up it's technorati ladder in no time!
hi karen very thoughtful i myself believe that failure is sometimes the reason of how to be successful coz i learn out of this experience and nevr repeat mistakes ...iknow it is very hard to swim in waters of life at this time so i agree with u its better to sink and stay alive
thx for the post i admire the way u are thinking
best wishes
Hi Lili!!
Wow .. I was wondering when you were going to pop in!! I am happy that this thought of mine has benefited those who read.
Thanks for coming by Buddy!!
Karen, thanks for thinking of me while my hubs was away. I will have to get used to him being away very often with this new job. This is just the beginning. He will be away from home about 60% of the time....haiz *sob*
Janice Ng
Jan,
I know it's not easy for you with him away 60% of the time. But I guess with new job and new potential opening to him, it would definitely benefit your family economically.
There are many modes of communication available in today's modern world. Use them!
Plus ... We are all here for you. Remember?
I'll have to agree totally... it's just like Gym.. we always learn to fall first.
Yo Bobo!
Yeah, learning to fall and yet be able to stand up again is one very important lesson in life!
Thanks for reading my blog! I appreciate that!
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