Winners never lose

WITH the Movement Control Order (MCO) in the recovery phase now, many aspects of life are beginning to return, albeit in a new normal way. For the past three months or so, Malaysians have faced a multitude of situations.

Some have lost their jobs while others have been struggling to keep their businesses afloat. Amazingly, there are also those who’ve been able to expand their network on social media and some who’ve made more sales online as compared to their conventional business in the pre-MCO days.

Whatever the situation is, life must go on. As parents, we must forge forward for the sake of our family. While it’ll be relatively easier for those who found fortune during the MCO, it’s not impossible for the rest of us to regain our footing. We must remain optimistic and hopeful that there are plenty of opportunities and good fortune awaiting — for as long as we keep on moving.

Let’s pause a moment to digest this wise and inspirational advice from Nelson Mandela, the man who was jailed for 27 years, only to become a president and successfully abolished apartheid. He said: “I never lose. I either win, or I learn.” It’s hard to find anyone who has gone through greater hardship than Nelson Mandela.

But the man showed us that such hardship only made him stronger, not weaker.

We must absorb this spirit for ourselves and our children. This is a great opportunity to show them a good parenting example — when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Lamenting about the uncertain future is one thing, but we mustn’t fall into the pessimism trap. Continue to explore ideas and turn them into plans.

LEARN AND RELEARN

To ensure we don’t blindly go into the unknown, we must do what Mandela did – learn. More specifically, we must be able to learn, unlearn and relearn. In the age of “gig economy”, our knowledge and skills may need to be updated. For example, the emergence of social media has overcome the effectiveness of traditional media. We must be fluent in both mediums in order to make a difference.

Remove our egos and the ‘know-it-all’ attitude because when we assume that we already know everything, the knowledge will stop coming. As parents, we need to teach our children humility.

Prove it to them that knowledge can come from any direction and sources.

Don’t look down on anyone and assume that they’re not capable of teaching us anything. When the knowledge doesn’t come pouring in, there’s no one to blame but our own attitude and mind-set.

It’s true that we’ll not always get what we want. There’ll always be better, faster and stronger people out there. But that doesn’t mean we should be left behind.

We just need to try again and again after analysing and applying the lessons learnt. At the end of the day, it’s not about trying to win everything, but about trying to win at the right time. Life is a marathon and there’ll be plenty of opportunities ahead for as long as we keep running.