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Today I spent the better half of the day in staff appraisals and honestly it was a physical and emotionally draining day for me. The first quarter of the year has been a challenging quarter for all of us at work due to changes in our company policies, the general economic outlook and client company policy changes. I must really thank God though that our results are still very good considering the circumstances, needless to say, this quarter has seen us lose quite a few core clients and also experienced staff turnover because some just could not take the setbacks that they have experienced.

Kinda felt like this talking to some of my team members today...
Image source from Pixabay

After all that, I sat down for a cup of coffee to just give myself some space to think and process the conversations that I had. It is really not the first time, over the span of 13 years of doing this business, there have been countless times when different things happened at different times. Why was this any different?

Anyway, I want to share that a few weeks back, we went to Sunday Service and listened to our senior Pastor Mark Varughese share about Vision Sunday for the church. He shared about a lot of things but one of the things that stuck was the story that of Peter walking on water. So the story goes that the disciples were in a boat in the middle of the sea and Jesus went to them walking on the water. As he approached the boat, Peter one of the disciples called out to him and asked Jesus if he (Peter) could also walk on water to go to him. Jesus then asked him to come and Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water. But when he (Peter) saw the strong wind and waves he was afraid and started to sink. Peter then shouted for Jesus to save him and Jesus grabbed him and said, "You have so little faith, why did you doubt me?" (You can read the whole story in the Bible in Matthew Chapter 14)

He then proceeded to share that it was not the size Peter's faith that failed him but actually the length or duration of his faith. All of us have enough faith because in the Bible it says if you have faith the size of a mustard seed (which is really tiny) then you can do a lot. Like Peter, I sometimes fail in how long I can keep the faith. A lot of people generally don't persevere and keep at it long enough to see the fruits of their labour.

I see many parallels to this in our day to day life and work. Take for example how many people set goals but don't stick to them and achieve them? Or even here on Steemit. I keep hearing how people start and when they don't see the result (in this case, don't see the money) they stop posting? Or even like me on my current 21-day challenge feeling too tired and drained at the end of the day to post? How many people actually want to do something really great and meaningful but the minute they hit something that is difficult or hard, they hit a wall and it all crumbles. New Year's resolutions are the best example. 30% are broken within the first week. I read in one article by businessinsider.com that 80% of new years resolutions are broken by the 2nd week of February! Business Insider Article

So How? (A famous Malaysian expression asking how?)

How you do you continue in faith and get that breakthrough that you need at your business or at your goals and your family?

1. Go figure out your WHY? Why are you working or doing that something? Your purpose for doing it!
2. Once you have it firmly in your mind head straight for your goals and don't doubt! Believe in what you have set out to achieve.
3. Do something every day that will bring you one step closer to your goal or end result no matter how small. You notice I said "DO" yup, actions matter.

You see Pastor also shared another nugget of wisdom, he said that doubt is not unbelief rather, it is walking between belief and unbelief. Kind of like saying yes I can do it and then later on saying no I can't...constantly oscillating between these two beliefs.

Being persistent and persevering to the end is TOUGH!

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That's Why Lah! (Another Malaysian Expression that translate into "that explains it")

I have to inherently believe that God has great plans and purpose for me where I am. I have to believe it and do not doubt. I also realise my deep need to rely on His strength rather than my own for a lot of things, running the company, bringing up my children, helping and being a blessing to others, fostering meaningful relationships...etc.

I also realise that helping and encouraging others to be persistent and persevere also helps me to keep at it! Thank you to some very special people who have encouraged me to keep at it and keep up with my postings, namely @elizacheng and @zord189. Though sometimes...I feel like strangling them at the ease that they churn out great quality posts.

So here's to me achieving my goals and dreams with perseverance and persistence and never doubting that Christ enables! Here is to you too!

If you are going through a tough time and feel like giving up, don't! Reach out to someone or if you would reach out to me, I would be honoured to be able to encourage you, pray for you and possibly even journey with you through your tough times!

So what is QUESNEY21? @joannewong and I are challenging each other to create great content for the next 21 days. Starting 26th of March and ending on the 15th of April. We needed the discipline and motivation that comes from being accountable to each other. Tell us if this is interesting to you, do you think you could benefit from your own QUESNEY 21?

Check out the other postings for this challenge:
QUESNEY21(Day 10): Review #1: Weaning Tots - Kid Friendly Restaurant
QUESNEY21 (Day9): 100 Degrees Steemit Introduction Session - 3rd April at Talentbank
QUESNEY21 (Day7): Their Entrepreneurship Journey - Women In Business: Making An Impact
QUESNEY21(Day 6): (Simple Living Series #3:30-Day De-Cluttering Challenge Update)
QUESNEY21 (Day4): The Heart of A Child
QUESNEY21 (Day 3): An Analogy For Your Steemit Wallet