An incident mentioned in the book Success in 30 Days goes like this. A soldier was mortally wounded in battle. The doctor declared that he was certain to die. A chaplain was sent to him so that he could pass away peacefully. The chaplain went to the soldier and said, “My son, your wounds are severe. It is likely that you are going to die. Is there anything you would like to say or do before the end?”
The soldier replied, “There is a diary in the inside pocket of my coat. Could you please get it for me, Father?” The chaplain did so. “Please open the diary,” the soldier requested again.The chaplain opened it.“There is a ten-rupee note inside.” “So what about it?” asked the chaplain. “Let us make a bet, Father. Ten rupees. I am not going to die,” the soldier said.
The soldier’s confidence astonished the chaplain. Many of us surrender to fate. We say: “This is my destiny.” “This is my lot in life.” “This will never work out.”
There are many people around us who helplessly submit to fate in this manner. They do not fight against fate; they simply surrender before it. Such people invite failure upon themselves. Instead, those who believe, “I will not lose; I will succeed,” and who struggle accordingly, achieve success in life.
Diseases such as cancer affect many people. Yet only some of them manage to overcome the illness. Even when two people receive the same treatment, often only one survives cancer. The reason is said to be that they possessed an extraordinary level of resilience and resistance- like the soldier in the story mentioned earlier. Everyone said that he would die. But he said that he would not die. The reason was that he had immense faith in himself.
There is an experiment conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. They placed a number of dogs in cages and administered electric shocks to them. No matter where they stood, they received shocks. Whether they lay down, sat or moved away, they still received shocks. As the shocks continued, the dogs became accustomed to them. Eventually, it became a habit. Later, the dogs were placed in another cage where there were no shocks. Yet they did nothing to avoid the shocks in the new situation. They had already surrendered to what they believed was their fate.
This is what is called being “conditioned.” People who pass continuously through adverse circumstances gradually become resigned to them. Once conditioned, they often do not try to break free from that state. They make peace with a life of extreme helplessness. Such people withdraw into themselves, believing in fate, destiny or luck. This is not the right approach to life.
It is true that in certain situations we become helpless. But helplessness acquired through conditioning does not take us anywhere. It is something that stands strongly against success in life. We must come out of such helplessness. We must fight for ourselves. When everyone around us says that we will fail, we must tell ourselves that we will succeed. When many point fingers and say, “You are a failure,” we must believe, “I am meant to succeed.” When society collectively says, “You are incapable,” we must boldly declare, “I am capable,” and strive to prove our ability. No one else makes us successful or unsuccessful. We ourselves do.
Therefore, without surrendering to unnecessary helplessness, without cursing our destiny and moving forward with optimism, self-confidence and above all, a firm reliance on God, let us continue our journey.
Regards
Prof Antoney P Joseph
