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Monday, February 23, 2015

Facing Reality Is The First Step To Progress

February 21, 2015
by Grimwald
 
I have never really been a big fan of boxing and, while I support Pacquiao during his fights, I’m not really all that crazy about him. After all, it’s supposed to be a game. Victory or defeat is never certain and it can only be decided once the fight is over. Anyway, while I might not be all that much of a boxing fan, I heard something from one of the Rocky films (I forget which) that really inspires me to this day. Here it is just in case you guys never heard it:
achievement“I’m gonna tell you something you already know; the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it’ll beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and still keep moving forward. It’s about how much you can take and still keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth but you gotta be willing to take the hits and not pointing fingers saying you’re not where you want to be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!”
Look guys, let’s make things perfectly clear here. Life isn’t easy and it never will be. Life isn’t fair and that’s another thing you just have to learn to live with. You can’t win all the time and, sooner or later, life will bring you down. One way or another, you’re going to fall to your knees. Life will make you cry and bleed for all your worth. But things don’t have to end there. Remember that when life brings you down, you still have to get up. You have to stand up again and move on. If you really want to get anywhere, you have to struggle to your feet and keep fighting. 
What’s sad is that for the common Filipino, things that are often difficult but rewarding are often overlooked in favor of things that are easy. As I have stated many times in many previous articles, many Pinoys associate the word “good” with what is “easy” or “convenient”. It’s notable that so many Filipinos fall for scams but are not willing to admit to the fact that they allowed themselves to be fooled and victimized by criminals. Take for instance the fact that the political scumbags that are in power today are all too often the result of our own less-informed and less inclined to thinking kababayans voting them into power. 
As mentioned in my previous article, the inability of many Filipinos to see beyond what is black and white is one of the primary reasons a lot of our less educated brethren are unable to decide properly on who to vote for. As it is, choices involving permanent positive change is never easy. To reach these goals, we must be willing to make sacrifices and not just sit around and leave everything to just one person. What’s worse is that when that one person finally fails or gives up, we blame them and call them out on being lazy or dumb even if we’ve given them so little to work with.
If we want positive changes in our lives, both as a people and as a nation we first need to be willing to make difficult choices. Please take note that the hallmark of maturity is the willingness to the right thing even if it hurts. You do not expect to go into a battle and come out unscathed. Somewhere along the way, you will be struck down and forced on the ground. Unfortunately, instead of getting back up and continuing the fight, here are some common Pinoy reactions:

“It’s Too Hard; I Can’t Win Anyway!”
This is why poverty is an ever-persisting problem in the Philippines. So many people are unwilling to try again after getting defeated. It’s sad to note that there are those who are willing to make sacrifices for the good of all but everyone else just want to sit in the sidelines and watch than to contribute to the effort.
While I have always been a fan of Dolphy films, I was somewhat saddened by the message of some of them. In some of these films, he plays the role of a poor man with a rich wife or daughter. While I like the sense of acceptance found in these films, I will note that the protagonist played by Dolphy never even thinks of improving himself or his family. He is simply happy being poor and keeping his family poor. This is how the media convinces people that being poor is a good thing. This is how the impoverished are conditioned into simply accepting their fates as the “poor” instead of pushing them to strive to better themselves and their families.

“I Was Cheated!”
Ah, the victim card, just another of Filipinos’ favorite pastime. While not as common as the one above, there are no shortage of people who are willing to play the victim card either. People complain constantly about the system being unfair to them without making any real efforts to change things. 
People allow themselves to be fooled by things like “easy money” and “instant gratification” instead of going for something that will bring about steady and positive changes. When asked who cheated them, there are even those who go as far as to blame God, the universe or destiny for screwing them over. Well, one can argue that bad things happen in our lives from time to time but when bad things happen all the time, maybe it’s time that you made some adjustments.

“It Wasn’t My Fault!”
Like the victim card, the blame game is another ever reliable excuse Filipinos like to use. Instead of accepting their own faults when they fail, some will blame others for their troubles. 
No one wants to take responsibility. No one wants to be them. In the end, no one wins and everybody loses. Is this really what we want for ourselves and our children?
As the quote above says, if we want to get anywhere, we should get up and fight and not waste our time moping about what was and what could have been. While justice and accountability are certainly important, let us first work on the tasks at hand before we try shoving responsibilities in each other’s face. 
We Filipinos are in love with our pride yet we are all too often unable to live up to what’s expected of us…

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