Ask, Seek, Knock

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

Matthew 7:7-8 - I have to say this has to arguably be my most favourite verse this year, and in particular in this stage of life that I am in. I've grown up reciting this verse for as long as I can remember. Mostly it was for Sunday school or for purposes of my CRE CATs and exams, but I finally took a step back to reflect on the true essence of this verse. Call it an epiphany if you will, but whatever it is, reciting that verse these days is the fuel I need to get through all my days, whether good or bad.

Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you is my new life mantra. I realized that so many times in life we watch opportunities pass us by because we didn't ask, seek or knock. Think about it. Really. Maybe it's that nice girl you've always wanted to ask out but you assumed things will just magically work in your favour and someone else ended up asking her out instead. Or that great idea that you had that you didn't work on and someone else ended up claiming it. Or that mentor you never reached out to, so you ended up making unnecessary mistakes in your career and wasted a lot of time in money deals gone bad. The list is endless.

I have always been a big believer in the power of asking. That's what sets you apart from average people. Average people are okay with whatever life hands them, whatever people hand them. They are never inquisitive, they never ask. Outliers know that the world owes them nothing therefore they will ask, they will seek and they will knock. And you know what, no one said that the answer always has to be yes. Be prepared for plenty of NO's, but never cease in your quest.

I once a read a book a few years back (I can't quite recall the name of the book), but I took away one thing that made me look at life differently. The author wrote that you lose nothing by asking. Worst case scenario is that you are turned down with a NO. But still, you lose NOTHING. Failure to ask, however, is a whole other spectrum. You risk losing out on a great opportunity merely by not asking. In a cost-benefit analysis kind of situation, I'd pick asking over not asking any day.

My point is, we need to embrace the power of asking and pro activeness. I can assure you my life has been so much easier since I took up that mentality. I never feel as if I'm losing out on anything even if faced with a million NO's because I know it would be much more painful to lose out on an opportunity. And that verse, Matthew 7;7-8 has been my inspiration, my fuel, my guide. It's funny how all the answers we seek all along regarding life are all in the Bible. We just have to take a step back and really read the word.

Two years on...

Wow. I can't believe it's almost been two years since I last put up a post. Well, lemme stop pretending because I originally started this blog as a class project (I got good grades in that unit BTW so the blog was a success) so really I was done with the blog when the semester was over. Anyway, I remembered that I was once a wannabe blogger and decided to go down memory lane. Oh boy what a trip that was! I've been reading through my posts back then and realized that I am actually a good writer. Not to brag, but I've always known I could write,just never knew I could express myself that well.

That trip took me back to two years ago and I realized how much I have grown through those two years. Most people think growth is mostly physical or financial. You know, you finish campus, get a good job, move to a bigger house, get a car etc... same old drill that most people go through. But the truth is, growth can involve every aspect of you as a whole. Looking back at my posts, I realized how much I've grown mentally and linguistically. I don't necessarily reason the same exact way I did two years ago, I no longer view the world, in the same exact way that I viewed it two years back either.

Change is good. Change shows that you have grown. I read a quote a few weeks back somewhere that 'everythng is temporary, but change is constant'. So true. Change is the one constant and definite thing we are all sure will happen in the course of our lives (death also). We may not necessarily know the type of change that will happen, but we always know it will happen some day. And truth is, change is scary. Getting done with school is a sort of change, getting a new job is change, getting married is change. But we more often that not ignore the simpler changes in life. Like the fact that you most probably have to drop more and more people out of your life as you grow up, or that life experiences teach you a lot and you gradually change the way you view the world. I'm always happy any time I look back and relalize how much I've changed because change indicates growth. And growth is positive. I personally think that people should aim for change every new year, instead of coming up with those bogus new year resolutions that they never live up to. See, aiming for change instead guarantees growth and I think is personally more fulfilling. Aim to constantly improve yourself and you'll always be ahead of the pack.