The Sunday Mail
Disappointments come, go, come again and again.
To be disappointed is natural, but to be discouraged is not. You may be disappointed but you still have choices.
Faced with disappointment, choose to put your head down, gaze forward and plough ahead. Being adrift does not mean you have been drowned.
Being down does not mean you are out. Find your voice in despair and follow your star in the darkness of the night.
No night lasts forever, no disappointment is permanent.
There are many things that disappoint, delay and threaten to derail you.
Do not pay homage to the voice of doubt and the musings of despair. I have my pains, agonies and despairs. I face my lot of disappointments, distresses and delays. It is impossible to be alive and never disappointed. It is impossible to do business and not face disappointments sometimes.
Valleys, hills, rivers and waterfalls are natural elements of the terrain. A dry desert does not mean that life does not exist there. I get disappointed, angry and feel frustrated, but I do not allow anything to discourage me. Disappointment happens, but discouragement is a choice.
Your greatness is determined by your ability to handle disappointment. Disappointment happens but discouragement is your current opinion of your situation and circumstances.
Everything that happens to you is neutral. You are the one who gives it colour with your thoughts and words. Your attitude tints the emotions related to your experiences. You are the artist and life is your canvas. Paint sensibly and creatively by thinking positively and dwelling on possibilities.
No one can make you take your hands off the wheel — hold on tightly to your dream. No one can make you turn back after holding the plough — face forward.
Focus on where you are going, not where you do not intend to go. Never let the bitter mockery of those who are going nowhere tempt you to give up.
Face your disappoints with grace and grit. Cry if you have to, for tears cleanse the soul. Swallow the bitter pill if it is prescribed medication but never, ever be discouraged.
Let dark clouds form, but make an allowance for sunshine in your soul. Allow a margin of grace to prevail. Keep your eye on the prize and your hand on the pulse. Press pause if you must, but don’t touch the eject button.
Failure is the flag of disappointment but failure is never final. It may just be a proof of concept.
Keep hope alive
Keep hope and faith alive — delayed but determined, driving uphill, but driving all the same. There is so much power in your spirit, potential in your soul and capacity in your bones. You will be disappointed by people, situations, circumstances and many other things.
However, never let that little voice of hope flickering at the end of a trying day die. Even death cannot kill you. What is in you is so strong and potent. Prize that little but firm voice that wakes you up in the morning and urges you to try again.
Keep hope alive and faith aflame.
The present circumstances do not invalidate your promise of the future. Your struggles are not an evidence of failure but faith. Do not allow your shame to shutter you. The trials of today are not a sentence to oblivion. Keep hope alive in the midst of your trials and tribulations.
Being tried, does not mean you have been dried. Your challenges are your chalice of wisdom. The trials you face are a fund of fortitude that you are building. Perhaps this is why Martin Luther King Jnr in an inspired moment said: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
The seed is alive
Dry conditions do not kill the seed. It remains powerful, though lying dormant. Violent winds cannot kill the power of the seed. Winds are mere transport agents of destiny. They perhaps transport the little seeds to places unimaginable and destinations unfathomable. Pray much; speak a little and dream a lot. Your winds will carry you to places that are beyond your wildest dreams.
Do not complain too early or curse too soon. Your difficult times will take you to places you would have never gone to voluntarily.
Pressure presses you to think progressively. Be ready, determined and open to possibilities beyond your dreams and destinations beyond your ticket.
Change your location, feel the force, ride the turbulence but refuse to uproot the plant or be discouraged.
As the waves gush, froth and beat against your boat, just shut the door to discouragement. Though bartered without and buffeted by troubles, remain firm within.
Keep the seed of faith alive and well. Your seed may be starved of rain for years and years, but just wait in faith.
Faith never disappoints. It is better to die in faith, than to live in discouragement. When rain comes, the life force in your seed will respond in kind.
If you can still dream, you have not died. If you can still breathe, you can still do something and say something that will be treasured for a lifetime.
If it is only the stump remaining, the tree has not died and the future is not futile.
Having no leaves does not mean that the tree is dead. Delay is not denial. Accept the pain of disappointment, but never swallow the bait of discouragement.
Do what you can
You may not be able to do everything, but there is something that you can do. Little steps are still steps. What is small today, will not be small forever. You may not be able to solve every problem, but there is something you can do.
Even under the weight of a granite boulder, you can still pray. Even if your body aches, your mouth still can speak. Even if your mouth is mum, you can still communicate. Do the little you can and believe God for that which is beyond you.
Do what you can and let the faith margin take care of the rest. Even when you cannot physically do much, you can still think, plan and strategise.
Do what you can and keep doing. Your problems are not a death certificate. Never be afraid of taking small steps, be afraid of standing still.
If you cannot run, walk. If you cannot sing, talk. If you cannot write, find chalk and try your hand at writing. If you have no voice, just stalk your dream.
Do the little that you can with the little that you have. Never be discouraged by size.
Small today does not mean small forever. Small prayers do not mean that God is small or limited. Never be so discouraged to try again, take a step and make an attempt.
Do what you can. Some small acts are acts of heroism. Do not let what is dead suck life out of what is living.
Do not let today’s disappointments drill a hole in the ship of your dreams. Do not let today’s despair cast a dark shadow over the your dreams of greatness. One wise sage once said: “Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”
Milton Kamwendo is an international transformational and inspirational speaker, author and coach. He is a strategy, innovation, team-building and leadership facilitator. Feedback: [email protected], Twitter @MiltonKamwendo and WhatsApp 0772422634
