Volleyball. The teacher was grading us for that sport.  I was kind of nervous because I am not good at volleyball.  I was telling myself: “Face it. You know you are not good at volleyball so this would take guts to be able to pass P.E. (Physical Education).”  What’s good about it though is that volleyball is a team sport and requires a real good team effort. 

As the game went on, I kept thanking God that the ball had not yet gone to me, meaning, it was not my turn to “volley” the ball. Until the time finally came.  I saw the ball flying towards my direction.  I do not even remember if I was able to scream:  “Mine!”  because I got used to saying:  “Yours!” Seconds felt like hours, hoping the ball might be blown by the wind.  The moment of truth. I closed my eyes and all I could do was lift my arms.  As soon as the ball touched my arms (It should really go to the hands, right? Told you I’m not good at volleyball.), my eyes were gawking when I opened it, and I asked: “Nasaan na?” (Where did it go?) Before I could keep track of my thoughts, I saw everybody already laughing. You know where the ball went? It zoomed way up to the rooftop of the gym!  Unbelievable! I wondered if my grade was going to be as high as that? 

 

ALWAYS SEE WHAT’S GOOD

Instead of feeling bad, I thought of what’s good about what just happened. I kept telling myself that at least I was able to make everybody laugh and have a fun time at P.E., not that I meant to be such a klutz at volleyball.

Moral of the story. No matter how bad your day was, always look at the positive side, especially when it comes to the attributes that you have. No matter how people think and talk negatively about you, keep reminding yourself of the good stuff. 

I’m glad that I grew up surrounded with well-meaning people who have blessed my life with kind words and compliments for me to possess a good self-esteem. As I got older, I prefer to remember the good stuff. For example: Ill-thinking people would subtly or intentionally say that I’m ugly. Instead, I would fondly remember that one time when my aunt told me that I am magayunon  (Beautiful:  Magayon).  I will always remember that. 

 

KEEP PUSHING FORWARD

There was a time when I was attending seminars for sales. When it comes to sales, you need a thick face so that you can approach people you don’t even know. Let me share this quote I learned from that.  With every person that you approach to have sales talk with, most likely you would receive a “No.” You keep on asking people so that you can have that good sale.  But as days went by, you keep receiving all these “Nos.” Until you have finally received the 9^th “No” and would have thought of giving up, but by the 10^th sales pitch, you finally got a “Yes!” and made that sale! What a good feeling, isn’t it? That’s because you never gave up. It might be very frustrating. You might even tell yourself that you’re no good at your job but in the end, it was worth it. You kept trying.  Instead of telling yourself: “Oh no! Not another thumbs down with selling.” Keep pushing forward because you’ll never know when you will finally have that “Yes!”

 

KEEP ON MOVING

Life is that way. There are a lot of opportunities and many of them might even be closed doors. But keep on moving. You might feel disheartened and even say that you might lack the talent and the background that you need to land that job you’ve always wanted, but never give up. Don’t criticize yourself that you are not good enough and that’s why you can’t find work. That would only make you feel insecure. Instead, look on the bright side and think that maybe it was not the right job for you. Maybe God has far more and better plans for you.

Learn to also pass on that characteristic of planting good seeds to the next generation, the children. One day, when they look back on what has given them the confidence they needed to succeed in life, they’ll have you to thank for. The same way that there are a multitude of naysayers, I choose to recall better those who had good and best intentions for me growing up and that counts a whole lot more than those who are resentful towards me.