Reflection 4: If you’ve got regrets for not working harder ... learn something from it.
REFLECTION 4. If you’ve got regrets for not working harder ... learn something from it.
Many of us stray into thinking ‘If only I’d...’
If it’s not too late to rescue yourself from that situation, the next step is obvious: you have to do something about the mess you feel you’re in and make the most of what comes after. If it really does seem too late then there’s one lesson to be learnt – avoid repeating the mistake.
You may wish you’d worked harder over the last couple of years ... but if you haven’t there’s no winding the clock backwards. You can do your best now and but learn a lesson for the future too. If you don’t you’ll find you’re trapped in a cycle it’s difficult to stop. An old song illustrates the message:
‘There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza dear Liza
There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza, a hole.
Then mend it dear Henry dear Henry
Then mend it dear Henry mend it.
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza?
With a straw, dear Henry!
The straw is too long, dear Liza…
Then cut it, dear Henry!
With what shall I cut it?
With a knife…
The knife is too blunt!
Then sharpen it….
With what shall I sharpen it?
With a stone…
The stone is too dry!
Then wet it…
With what shall I wet it?
With some water…
With what shall i fetch it?
With a bucket …
BUT THERE'S A HOLE IN MY BUCKET!
There’s a Youtube version at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6h4LoMgqlIIt’s important to find an aim and work at achieving it.
Alan Sugar is famous today for the television series ‘The Apprentice’ [
www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice/ ] and that line ‘You’re fired’. He has an image of being a tough person, and his life is full of examples of having to make tough decisions. That’s one of the key ingredients of who he is today.
There’s information about Sir Alan Sugar at:
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/hongrads/2005/sugar and
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3618754.eceAnother person who learned about the importance of having an aim in life – and working hard for it was
Anita Roddick. Founder of the The Body Shop, she was relentless campaigner for many issues before her death in 2007. The Body Shop had amongst its founding principles an opposition to the use of animals in testing and a commitment to environmentally friendly products. In her life Dame Anita Roddick was also influential in many areas – including the founding of ‘The Big Issue’.
See
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/sep/11/ethicalliving.lifeandhealthAnd
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3967366584123292572BIBLE REFERENCEMatthew 13:1-9 and 13-23 (The Parable of the Sower)
(
Prayer of Sir Francis Drake)
