The true winner

My church's anniversary is coming up and my pastor's wife asked me to be in charge of the children's presentation (much to my horror.. =O). I wouldn't say I am the best choice but what to do? I just finished my Performing Arts subject last semester. That means I have a teeny, tiny weeny little bit of experience in stage performing that includes acting, singing and dancing. I let them choose what sort of presentation they want to do. The choices are drama, dance or sing (what else? lol...). They chose drama (horror of horrors.. *screams*). So, I started training them.

Last Sunday, I gave them an exercise to give them an idea on what is characterisation. To cut the whole long story short, one of the kids, a girl, gave up and started crying without trying because she thinks it's too hard to do. (I really hate it when kids get whiny. I mean, they chose it. So they should endure it. It's not like I didn't warn them it's gonna be hard and the process won't be as fun as they think it is. *sighs* here we go again....) After dismissing the rest of the class, I sat down beside her and talked to her (with all the patience I have.. *sighs* took a lot to not yell at her and talk to her nicely.. then again, they are just kids.. but then again, cannot pamper them too much.. oh, Lord, give me wisdom!). I needed to tell her a few times to stop crying and talk so that I can understand her and she finally told me why she wanted to quit. Like I said before, she thinks it's too hard. That's when I started to lecture (ahem.. xP) her.

There will be obstacles and problems that will come our way as we continue our journey in life. When things get hard, do we run away and give up? Do we hide ourselves and hope the problem will go away? No. We face it and we go through it. Sure, there will always be failures but that's part of life. We won't become successful without failures. (sounds cliche, I know.. but it's true.. success comes after a fall! =D) Most importantly, we shouldn't give up without trying. How would you know something is so hard if you didn't try to do it?

We shouldn't think that we can't do this or we can't do that. Instead, face everything with a teachable heart. Nothing is easy in this world. But there isn't anything that is too hard either. When things get tough, ask for help. That's when we put down our pride and ego and accept other people's guidance and help. A lot of times, we screw up because we are just too proud to ask for help. (mmmhmmm.. totally understand this,  man.. xD)

Sometimes, after trying, we might find out the problem isn't all that hard at all. That's when a sense of achievement and confidence come in. When our self-confidence is boost up, we will be braver to take up more challenging things, knowing that we can overcome it. See, one good thing leads to another. But before gaining all these good things, we must first be brave enough to take that first step of faith into the unknown. Stepping out of our comfort zone to try out new things or solve problems that we think are hard for us.

So many times I wanted to give up when things get tough and discouraging during my Performing Arts class. Maybe my natural stubborn streak and refusal to be a loser kept me going. I stayed on and preserve. On my final showcase night, I tasted the sweetness of victory and achievement when the audiences clapped and hooted. I found out I had gained a lot of self-confidence in this class and being able to do things that I would never do in my life. I gathered my courage and took that first step of faith into the unknown and I am glad I preserved. I can happily tell you that I have grown and learnt so much in that class.

It's okay to grumble and complain a bit throughout the whole process. It's alright to cry once in a while when things get really tough. Remember to stand up again when we fall down. That's one of the key to success. If (dang, what's his name again.. gah.. I need to go Google it out.. ><) Thomas Edison gave up after failing for the 3rd or 4th time, do you think we would have light bulbs to use today? Keep on trying until we succeed.

The true winner isn't the person that have a natural talent in something and won some competition. 
The true winner is the person that try, never gave up and preserve until the end. 

Agree? =) Anyways, after spending some time yapping at the girl, she finally agreed to try again the following week. That's my girl. =)

Sometimes, we just need to have a little faith, bring out some confidence and courage and just do it (wow, Nike commercial.. xD). Don't give up without trying. That would make you the ultimate loser. At least try first. If you really can't and give up, at least you can say that you have tried.

Don't give up! Have faith! Be courageous and confident! =D

YOU ARE THE WINNER!!!