BY KAZEEM A. IDOWU
Giving up is the easiest thing to do. Being a quitter is the greatest disservice you can ever do to yourself. You can choose to be lukewarm if you like. You can choose be determined and persistent. Both of these things probably require the same degree of efforts. To quit or to persist, you are using the same amount of energy. Why not then channel your energy properly? Why not choose to persist why choose to quit instead?
Dear reader, life is a battle, a battle with several layers. It is a battle between the good and the bad, right and wrong, success and failure. This battle is often fought uphill and to win it without struggle is like setting out to win a battle without honour. If there are no difficulties in life, I ask you, would there be any success? If there is nothing to struggle for, would there ever be anything left for us to achieve? An endeavour worth the shot can’t be achieved easily. Life has its ups and downs. At times, the road will be rough and going forward will be very tough but patience is the key. Endurance is the vehicle. But you have to fuel your vehicle of progress with determination to ignite your success by being persistent.
Patience is the quality of being able to bear provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain without complaint, loss of temper, irritation or the likes. It takes patient to lead a group of people. It takes patience to be able to achieve any meaningful result. Sometimes it will be very tough, but should you quit? You just have to be patient. Remember what Allah says in Qur’an 12 (Suratul Yusuf) verse 87:
“…and Never give up hope of Allah’s mercy, certainly no one despairs of Allah’s mercy, except those who have no faith”
As a believer that you are, patience gives you the ability to hold yourself back even if you have every reason to give up. Allah is telling you again in the holy Qur’an Chapter 2 (Suratul Baqara) verse 2 thus:
“And seek (Allah’s) help with PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE and PRAYER: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit.
I must however be sincere with you that being patience doesn’t mean it is all over. You must be ready to also endure. Endurance is the power or the ability to withstand hardship or stress. There are times you will have to keep sleepless night; times you will feel like giving up and run away. There are times you will wish you had not undertaken the task. It is endurance that will keep you going even though you have every reason to give up. Remember what Allah says in the glorious Qur’an Chapter 3 (Suratul Al-Imran) verse 200 thus:
“O you who believe! Endure. Out do all others in endurance, be ready, and observe your duty to Allah, in order that ye may succeed.
What does the above verse of the holy Qur’an tell you? See eh. You can’t do everything at your leisure. You have to be ready to sacrifice. Whatever endeavor you lay your hand on, be committed. Commitment is the willingness to give your time and energy to something that you believe in, or a promise or firm decision to do something. Commitment and sacrifice are like two sides that make a coin. Without the readiness to sacrifice, there won’t be willingness to be committed. Remember, the fact that you have a worthy goal is not enough. However well thought your plan is, it does not materialize in itself. Talk is cheap. Even vegetable or ugwu soup can be prepared with mouth. Executing your plan puts your faculty at work. When you have done all you can within your power and you can honestly say: “Indeed, I have done my best.’ Put your trust in Allah.
Mind you, it is not every time you will get the result you think you deserve. Sometimes Allah may decide to test you. In fact, sometimes not getting what you want might be the best thing for you. Remembers, Allah says in Qur’an chapter 29 (Sura Al-Ankaboot) verse 2-3
“Do men think that they will be left alone saying, ’We believe’ and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false.”
But just before you give up merely because you didn’t get the desired result, may I bring it to your attention what Allah says in Qur’an Chapter 2 (Suratul Baqara) verse 216:
”…But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.
And just before you give up, remember the real test of man is not how many times he falls, it is his ability to stand on his feet each time he falls. The determination to stick one’s neck up even in the middle an ocean is what makes one a man.
