Life is full of so many uncertainties, and regardless of how confident the outcome of our decision could be, life still happens. A lot of things sometimes do not go as planned, and it makes us feel terrible depending on our expectations. We start asking questions like how and why things turned out that way because we did everything we could or let me say, put in our best.
When things like this happen several times, a lot of people develop fears, and it becomes a challenge for them to try new things.
"What if the outcome doesn't go as planned? Won't I be at the losing end?" Many ask this question and, in the end, just take a bow because they don't want to arrive at nothing in the end.
I am quite aware of life uncertainties and yet do not hold back when I have the opportunity to do anything. Whether the results would be bad or great, I can't tell, but there is something I am very confident about, which you will get to know as you read on.
Some months ago, I started a small garden in my compound after a series of arguments with my landlord.
I gathered tomato seeds, bitterleaf stalk, basil root, aloe vera, jute leaf seeds, and a few others. The space is small, but I had plans of growing so many veggies.
I swung into action and started tending to my garden. It became part of my morning routine, and I enjoyed it a lot. The seeds sprouted, and I was really excited; it even inspired me to double my efforts in the garden.
Things were going pretty well, and my plants grew bigger, but they didn't produce at the time I expected. I didn't stop doing the needful, and one of the tomatoes eventually produced. I saw just two balls hanging on the plant.
Honestly, I felt disappointed because that wasn't what I was expecting. I even spoke to a few people who have gardens, and they shared their plant growth with me.
I waited patiently, hoping the other tomatoes to produce, but nothing happened. It was just two balls in my garden and something crossed my mind.
"Nothing to show for the effort."
It rang in my head several times, but when I thought about it thoroughly, I had something to show for my efforts, and it's experience.
Humans, we most times look down on experience when it has to do with us, but we expect it a lot more from other people. It's true that experience is the best teacher, and whatever we have learned from an experience is ours.
Although the outcome of my gardening doesn't compliment my efforts, I was able to acquire knowledge and experience. It's not my first time gardening, but it's been about two decades, and yes, it's okay if I don't get things right immediately.
I got rid of the tomatoes when they started drying and sought more knowledge before planting tomatoes again. My tomatoes are growing, and I really hope things get better.
What am I driving at? Not harvesting plenty of tomatoes doesn't make my shot at gardening a failure; it added more value to me through experience, so that's a plus for me.
Another good things is that my other plants are doing pretty well.
Away from gardening, many of us easily back out of things that we really love and have passion for all because the outcome of our efforts was beyond our expectations.
Instead of quitting, why not see this as an opportunity to learn more and take another shot at that thing? Like I mentioned earlier, life is full of uncertainties, but after going through that thing that didn't work out, you are not the same person again.
All image in the post are mine
Wes & Grindan