Stay the Course
June 5, 2008Most people struggle in life only to find themselves giving up just when they are within ridiculous reach of their goals. Somehow, they figured that they have been under fate’s ruthless shadow for the longest time and decided to just stand up and move on.
“But isn’t that the proper thing to do?” you might ask. Adding further, that life is too short to be spending so much time on something that is not even remotely certain. Yeah, these are true. Point is, nothing in this world is gained without a particular amount of risk involved. It’s a gamble. And if you are going to be gambling you better make damn sure that you at least study your odds of winning.
Gambling is taking on risks, meaning to bet on something with an uncertain outcome. Put in a little research, historical data and facts and it becomes……VOILA!…..an “educated guess”. In Finance, there is such a topic as risk management. Tons of books have been written about the subject and to tell you frankly, I’ve read a few and boy was I bored to death. But if you think about it, it is a very important aspect of investing. It teaches the student how to lessen risks. i.e. hedging.
Why am I even discussing this? Simply because, the principles of finance almost always certainly apply to the principles of life, whether they touch on the physical, spiritual or emotional aspect of our lives.
Point to remember: just when you have journeyed far and wide, tired, starving, withered towards your goals, and just about ready to give up….keep in mind that maybe, just maybe, what you want is just behind the crop of trees, around the bend, or on the other side of the river. To give up now, would only negate all the hard work you have put in the past years, months, weeks, and days.
Delayed gratification is such a maligned statement. Examine it, tinker with it, understand it and the rewards are guaranteed to be worth it. 
Previous Comments
Yep, apprently, for some, the temporal joys of instant gratification are worth risking a more longer lasting, meaningful happiness to nothingness. Impatience could not be more self defeating than that.
the tricky part i guess is in knowing when we should keep on waiting and trying, and when it’s time to give up the fight.
we will only know after we have made the decision.
Well, think of it this way Gratsi, if Thomas Edison gave much more weight to all his failures than his successes then I guess, we wouldn’t have a lightbulb eh? 
Point is, if we really want it, it wouldn’t matter how many times we fall in the process of trying to attain it. It is really dependent on how much a person desires the object, or dream. Perseverance would be very apt to describe all this.
Yeahhh, pinpricks aside (ouch-ouch), if there’s one thing that we should not be afraid of, it’s making mistakes AKA taking risks.
I have my collection of “favorite mistakes.”
Posted by cocoy at June 5, 2008, 5:41 pmba’t putol ang comment ko? As I was saying: I have my collection of “favorite mistakes.” Because of them, and with a little help from my friends, I grew (and became Super Cocoy! hehe.). We live, we learn! (Did i hear you sing?)
And as the saying goes, most people give up JUST before reaching the top. I know this because I’ve had regrets in the past for not pushing myself a little harder and farther. And whenever I fail, I just sing with Aalilyah: you can dust if off and try again, try again, try again!
This Virus, what a serious.
Awesomely put though good friend and while it is a lesson which is sadly best learned through experience your words here may hopefully steer the young uns to trully stay the course.
It seems this is more difficult to do in this age of convenience. I’ve come to realize that more often than not, things get harder the closer you get to the top. The character needed to finish is often molded by constantly facing and getting past obstacles, no matter how trivial. Forgive my long and somewhat pessimistic comment ol’ friend.
Posted by Peter "The Mordo" Juan at June 5, 2008, 6:47 pmUhhm, pucha dami atang tinamaan ah. Hahahahaha! Just kidding of course!
Cocoy, who the heck is Aaliyah?!?!?Hehehe. You have learned well my padawan learner. Sooner or later student become teacher! And teacher die of old age. Hahahaha!
Yeah, when I become president of the Philippines I will change the national anthem to Alanis’ You Learn. But it’s true, people are so afraid to fail, when sometimes, we only learn by failing.
Mr. Mordo, I’m glad that you decided to comment on this entry. As it provides a somewhat credible backing of the words written here. I agree, with your realization. All of us (well almost all of us) must pass through a baptism of fire of sorts before we receive our rewards. I’ve been there, in fact, I think I live there still. Hehehehe.
I hardly think that your comment is pessimistic dude. It will depend largely on the reader’s current orientation. They can choose to view it as a challenge, or they can tuck tail and run. Either way, it will be their choice my friend.
“What this power is, I cannot say. All I know is that it exists…and it becomes available only when you are in that state of mind in which you know exactly what you want…and are fully determined not to quit until you get it.”
- Alexander Graham Belle - err - Bell (hehehehe!)
COCOY! last song syndrome!! grrrrrrrr! *try again..try again..try try…* (remixed version opkors! hehehehe)
Posted by tonyo at June 9, 2008, 4:05 amWonderful contribution Manang! That summarizes the whole entry by itself.
Great to see you.
very inspiring
welcome finch. thanks for the kind words.
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People malign delayed gratification because they turn to the instant one.
Posted by Nightdreamer at June 5, 2008, 11:55 am