If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.’ This is a common proverb.
But do you know that it is actually a short poem entitled “Try (try) Again” written anonymously but popularly attributed to W. E. Hickson, who quoted it (with three try’s) in his Moral Songs.
Here’s the original short poem:
‘Tis a lesson you should heed,
Try, try again;
If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try again;
Then your courage should appear,
For, if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear;
Try, try again.
Once or twice though you should fail,
Try, try again;
If you would at last prevail,
Try, try again;
If we strive, ’tis no disgrace
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in the case?
Try, try again.
Time will bring you your reward,
Try, try again.
All that other folks can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view;
Try, try again.
Lesson: Keep on trying
Consequence: Courage
Fear: Disgrace, loss
Reaction: Discouragement, frustration
Realistically, people are gripped with the fear rather than the consequence of continuously trying despite failing.
I want to improve yourself, to eliminate debt, to lose weight, to make a relationship work, to make the world a better place, to stop smoking and drinking, to stop gossiping, to get promoted — these are some of the things we keep on trying to do and yet haven’t succeeded to do it 100%.
Do you remember your resolutions at the beginning of every year? Have any of them been accomplished? Or are you still trying to make them happen?
Success in doing the things we want is not a walk in the park, especially if it calls for making a change. Breaking a habit is terribly difficult. So aside from the fear of loss or disgrace looming over our heads, the visible reaction is frustration and discouragement on our faces.
Back to the Lesson: Keep trying!
Any achievement has to be earned,worked for. And if we fail in stages, remember that each failure is a preparation for the following one, so you mustn’t hurry through or skip stages or even run away from failures.
For each unsuccessful try, we learn to think of a different approach and strategy and that is enriching. This process of change—failing, re-strategizing, trying again, failing, re-planning, etc..— makes us rich in experience and maturity. Each failure teaches us something new about our goal and ourselves.
If you try something, you have already achieved something brilliant regardless of the end result. Trying is always enough.
If things don’t work out the way you had hoped, be proud that you gave it your best shot. Then try again.
So what do you get from all the ups and downs? Consequence is Courage.
My favorite though about courage is this: It is facing the difficulty. It is not same as “bravery”. Bravery is acknowledging you have the valor and strength and that there is no difficult situation to face. But “courage” is accepting that things are hard but believing there is hope in God’s help.
There is no failure except in never trying again. It is always the courage to continue that counts in the end.
So people who say “I’ll give it another try.” believe that they can overcome any difficulty even through series of failures because they know that God is there to make things possible; that the difficulties are tests of faith and at the end of the road, God has something good in store for those who are steadfast in their faith that “all things work together for good..” (Romans 8:28) for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.