A Wise Man Said

Dr. Albert Schweitzer:
An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere. The pessimist sees only the red light. But the truly wise person is color blind.

We probably hear quotes like this everyday. We even use them to comfort friends or family in despair. But do we really apply them to ourselves? I'm pretty sure everyone of us have our own downturns in life but we have no choice but to bounce back on our feet and move on, and for one simple reason "This Is Life".

Honestly, I consider myself a pessimist. I don't really remember since when I started being one or was it even born in me? But hey! who am I to say that. I believe God made us perfect in His image as in Genesis Chapter 1 and when we were born as babies we were flawless both spiritually and mentally.

Thinking back, it was 12 th of November 2009, I was sitting for my third final semester paper, Accounting Theory. This paper was known to be the "killer paper" for all third year students. I vividly remembered I have been revising one month for this paper and with that in mind I was fully confident that I could make it through easily. During the exams, I totally blanked out and the first thing which came through my mind was " Oh Gosh, I'm gonna fail this paper!". At that moment, I just felt like storming out of the exam hall and cry. I felt like I was drowning in my own fear. Negative thoughts start pouring in and I could hear "voices" saying, "You will have to stay for another semester and you're not gonna make it to Aussie". At that moment, all my hopes and dreams just crushed. In a desperate attempt, I prayed and I prayed asking God to give me the strength to fight these negativity and calm my mind. And trust me. God never fails. I held on strong to my faith that God provides, I regained my confidence and tried my best to finish the paper. And of cause, I made it through.

One important lesson learnt is that we can never underestimate the power of our mind. Just like the simple theory of whether one sees a cup half full or half empty. So beware and don't fall prey to the tricky mind it is a being of its own and it knows you inside out and the only way to conquer it is through your will power.