“I lost it”, that’s what we think when we address a failure. And just like anybody else I thought the same. Started walking in haste, just as to search answers for my defeat. I drank a lot of water, ate a couple of biscuits, and began to murmur in anger, “How could I, that’s not me”.
Well, that was exactly not me, the 3 am version of myself who was burning in anger and dilemma. Yes, it was a dilemma, a dilemma of failure, anger, and disappointment. It’s true that I lost the game, but was it really a defeat?
This question struck like an arrow in my mind and I just reversed thirty minutes of my life and tried to recollect the traces that I left behind, in dark. “SHREYA, did you really loose?
I was betrayed by my fellow teammates and was struck out of a program. I could see the lies woven in front of my eyes, the blur excuses, their bare faces, and my helpless situation. I felt that my world has fallen apart, the people with and for whom I worked rigorously, the work which swept all my blood and sweat, was just denied to me, right before me. I could do nothing, but to return with bare hands. Swollen in disgrace, I found no way to bring back my reputation. “How would I face them”, “What would happen now”, “Will everyone insult me”, “Is this all”? Lost in questions I returned back to my captive. I couldn’t sleep and woke up in night. I was restless and afraid.
But now as I was recollecting those traces, I realised, what fault was exactly mine?
Trusting people?
Not being their favourite?
Working relentlessly?
Expecting good from others?
Well, these are just a few activities of normal homo sapiens and how could I be different, after all, I was also a human being. These reasons weren’t the cause for my failure, and even it wasn’t my defeat. It was a dilemma, which I was dealing with and threading up. I had to stop this cycle before it could bring me back to where I started. It wasn’t a failure and I had to accept it.
So I took a chair, sat down, and pondered upon how to deal with it. And finally, I understood what was happening and enlightened myself with the divine truth, “You only fail when you treat yourself like one”. And with a smile on my face, I went back to bed.
Being betrayed is a common incidence in today’s world. Millions of people are left broken now and then at different instants of their life, with varied reasons. For me, it was professionally personal but for Steve Jobs and many others, it was strictly professional. You can’t survive without trusting people with things. You’ll fail at crucial games when your team will back out when you’ll be just left alone. You’ll be kicked out of organisations, waived off with nothing, and left abandoned. You’ll find it tough to gain back your reputation but is it really it?
No.
Little do you know that people, organisations, and commitments are temporary. They’ll be forgotten, lost, and left someday. But there is a constant, “You”.
You have to trust your strengths before trusting others so that even if they leave, you can build your empire again.
You have to become your favourite first so that critics don’t break your spirit any day with their insults.
You have to work on your skills which nobody will ever be able to steal.
You have to expect from yourself to not lose hope when adversity strikes.
Isn’t it easy to decode your so called failure now? You just behaved as any normal person would have. So if you are betrayed, it’s not your loss, but their loss on grounds of integrity and righteousness. But you will commit sin now if you will blame others and spend your worthy time in lamenting at your situation.
Be like a river, don’t stop. You have to flow. Pass on these banks and harness fertility to your soul and your surroundings. And just remember, “You only fail when you treat yourself like one”.
Betrayal is not a defeat.