Hidup Berani Untuk Gagal

Have you ever noticed that whenever you entered a bookstore, any bookstore at all; be it MPH or Popular or Minerva or Pustaka Mukmin in Kuala Lumpur, there is always at least one book on the shelf with the title 'Dare to Fail'. This book, wonderfully written by Bili P.S. Lim is one of the No. 1 bestsellers, and has motivated and inspired his readers on striving their way to success despite enduring countless amount of failure.

I once thought of something when I saw the book. Why must we dare to fail? And why would anyone want to risk to experience failure in the first place? At that time, I thought that failure will not come if we have put in our best effort and innermost passion in anything that we indulge. Just like a saying; no pain, no gain. At that time, I thought failure will come to those who are indolent and simply taking for granted the opportunity and the convenience that has been given. Well, I was wrong.

Failure has no boundary, no smell, no tracks, and often it comes at the time we least expected it. We thought we are full prepared for the interview, but when the day comes, we tumbled. We have studied and burning the midnight oil for months only to find the result to be nothing but a disappointment. Often, when such occasions occurred, we asked God. Why must this happen to me and not to someone else? Where did I go wrong? What did I do to deserve this? The consequences can come in either two ways. We wash away the dejection and the frustration and try again or decided to stop and leave our future wholeheartedly to God, thinking that if this is the fate that has been determined, there is no use of continuing, for the future is already written and we have no powers to change it. That is where the wrong is. Of course, the fate is already written, but we can make the future better by improving ourselves. Everyone dreams of having a beautiful and blissful life with our beloved family and friends, but nothing comes on the house. Everything needs effort and enthusiasm and determination, only then we can learn about the world, that it is not only a bed of roses, but it is also full with prickly, uninvited thorns that become the obstacles for us. Most of all, all the hardship and failure is the main ingredient of creating and moulding a successful and strong human. We are the caliph of the world, sent by Allah S.W.T to rule the world to become a wonderful and enchanting place to live. If the leader owns no spirit of fighting, the people will collapse. Just like a ship, if the captain has no determination to search for an island and venture the ocean without fear of facing bitter failure, his ship will wreck and sink into the deep sea, becoming nothing but a rotten wood and playgrounds for the fishes. Failure is bitter, but that is the antidote. We can never learn and will never improve if we never have the experience of suffering and failure. Perhaps it is the most painful thing to bear, but think of the previous heroes that has conquered their fears and failure before being able to touch victory. We have lots of heroes as examples; Salahuddin Al-Ayubi, Ibnu Sina, and especially our beloved prophet, Rasulullah S.A.W. The Prophet has endured thousands and countless amount of suffering and failure, but all those do not even shake an inch of his spirit and determination in spreading the holy religion of Islam across the globe. And all those effort are handsomely rewarded, for Islam is now the major religion which has the most followers in the world. The success was not mainly because he is a Prophet, it is also assisted with his determination, perseverance, high spirit and ambition of creating a new world, a world of peace, harmony and in accordance of Al-Quran and Sunnah. If this example isn't good enough, picture our life like that of the Lord of The Rings trilogy movie, minus all the monsters. They have encountered obstacles, suffers failure, but when they finally reached their goal, all the suffering have become immaterial.

Furthermore, if we are not given any taste of hardship and failure, if victory and success just roll on towards us like a ball, we will become a selfish person, an arrogant human and an ungrateful soul, thinking that we owned the luxury based on our own work and not from God. This is where failure is important too. It will remind us constantly that we are no super heroes that have the ability to make things according to our own desire. We are humans, full with shortcomings and prone to mistakes. Not only we must persevere, we must also remember our Creator, Allah S.W.T. Never abandon and never neglect our obligations, for everything seeks for the blessings of Allah S.W.T. Even the most wealthiest and powerful human in the world can be taken away all of his influences and luxury if he has gone beyond the blessings of Allah S.W.T.

Failure teach us one of the most precious lesson in the world. Nothing comes without pain. There is no good without bad, there is no black without white, there is no dark without day. Failure happens to everyone, but it varies based on individuals. It is up to us to choose the path. If we prefer to have a clear path, without any obstacles but straight, comforting and safe, we will reach the destination. If we decided to pick on a path that is risky, we will also reach the destination. The only difference is the latter keeps their most precious and valuable treasures we can use for life. What is the treasure? Courage, dignity, victory and most of all, the recipe to become one of the successful human and caliph in the face of the earth, regardless of whether it is a big or a minimal task. There is nothing more satisfying than to taste the sweetness of victory after a long journey of hardship and failure. That feelings is the best feeling that we can ever have.

So, don't treat failure as a foe. Treat it as a friend, a wonderful friend who wants nothing but the best for us. Also, have a strong faith in Allah S.W.T. Allah will never give a task that is beyond our capability. And He never disappoints an individual who has given their very best for an ambition to make the world a better place. I like to portray life as a caterpillar. It has to go through the thorns before it gets to the rose. The journey is slow and challenging, but when it reaches the beautiful, soft petals, there is no place in the world that feels better than that. So don't be afraid to fail, or I prefer to say in my very own beautiful mother tongue language; Berani Untuk Gagal.

*Contest ini dianjurkan oleh blog Denaihati. Saya tahu tentang contest ini dari blog El Blog De Adila. Hadiah pertandingan ini ditaja oleh DSGClicks, Berani Gagal Network, One Malaysia Blogshops, Anisha Online Mall, dan Saudacare