Even after a bad harvest there must be sowing. – Seneca
A bronze sculpture of Demeter, Greek goddess of agriculture. In this depiction, she is sowing houses.
What does that mean?
This is one of the most powerful truths of nature. No matter how poorly the harvest turned out, if you wish to have another crop, you must first sow your field.
This is at the core of the old saying “if at first you don’t succeed…” and, so long as you notice why you didn’t succeed and make adjustments, you should try again. I disagree with those who alter the end that quote with “…quit, don’t be a fool about it.”
I do give the caveat that if you aren’t making adjustments, you are being foolish, as you are not learning from your experiences. However, if you are ever to succeed, you must try again. You have to plant, even if the crop from last season was pitiful.
Back in the day, if you didn’t plant your crops, you didn’t eat. While failure was always an option, quitting was a death sentence for you and all who depended on you for their food.
Why is facing failure important?
It is a fact. Not everything works the way you want it. Not the first time, not every time. Only some of the time do things work out. We have to be ready to handle an undesireable outcome to anything we attempt.
In everything from business decisions to picking friends, not everything we touch turns to gold. So the question becomes “Now what?” The quote has the answer, you have to start again.
Think of a sports team. No matter how badly things went a moment ago, they have to regroup and try again. They might do better this time, and they might not. But they will continue to try until the very end.
You may be starting over from where you were, or you may have been set back quite a distance. You still have to try again. Is your life less important than a sports game?
Where can I apply this in my life?
We all have had the urge to quit. We’ve set something aside in disgust or frustration. Perhaps we intended to go back and try again later, or we might have buried it in a deep dark corner, where we hoped to never see it again.
No matter, we can always dig it back out. We can always try again. Yes, it might not be pleasant. We didn’t dump it because things went well. But what can we learn from giving up? Not much, right?
That doesn’t mean there isn’t a time when you need to set something aside. We all have priorities, and something else may come up. My project car was sidelined while I raised my kids.
There are also times when you cannot move forward because you lack a skill or knowledge. Just remember to schedule some time to do that, and get back to what you had been doing. Get back in the game by improving yourself and trying again.
Other things, by their nature, are one-and-done. A relationship which ended badly, that’s probably not someplace you can go back, right? However, that doesn’t mean you cut yourself off from all of humanity.
You still have to sow the seeds of relationships again. Hopefully you took at least one lesson from the disaster of the prior ‘harvest’ and can do better with the next. Learn and grow, right? That’s what we have to do.
Think about your life, and the things you have left behind, dropped, or hidden from view. Which are worth giving another try? Have you gained the skills or knowledge necessary to make it worth another try?
Pick one of them, perhaps based on the likelihood of success or your personal interest in the endeavor, and give some thought to what it will take to get it going again.
Now that you have this somewhat organized in your head, grab some paper and write these things down. What is the first step, and what are some of the little things necessary to accomplish it?
You have a thought. You have a plan. Now you need action. The sooner you start, the more believable and credible your actions will be to your own mind. Build some momentum, and take that first step.
Don’t give up. Review your results, make an adjustment, and try again. Repeat. Until you win.
From: Twitter, @philo_quotes
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/luciusanna135069.html
Photo by Wayne Wilkinson
Related articles
- The Principle of Sowing (danskognes.wordpress.com) – a great take on sowing, read it!
- Sowing and Reaping (take54u.wordpress.com)
