By Success Kunda

Isaiah 43:1 “Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine.”

Life is really meant to be lived to the fullest but alas only very few if any are today able to attest or even affirm the realisation of the fulfilment of what they ever dreamt of being the true meaning of a perfect life. Failure to be satisfied with life results in resentment, being disgruntled and even nursing the strongest feeling of failure. Some resort to blame game and usually put the blame on innocent individuals that they perceive to be enemies of their progress. It is just expedient to explore the most common impediment to personal success if a failure has to be challenged.

One of the icons of Zambian politics Hon Gray Zulu liked the quote, “The devil you know is better than the angel you don’t.” Among the many obstacles in the quest to succeed in life, the worst is fear. Naturally, fear is an endowed feeling of inadequacy present in every individual. It has both positive and negative connotations. It affects different people differently. Those that are positively affected by it may refer to it as an ally to progress. However, those that are negatively affected look at it as the worst enemy and justifiably, fear drains all hope of ever making it.

My own grandfather shared with me how his father miraculously survived the attack from the king of the jungle (Lion) by merely mastering the pangs of fear. In the early 1930s, my great-grandfather heard the cry of anguish from the goats’ kraal and came out of his house without any weapon to save his treasured possession and to his dismay, he found the most feared animal feasting on his only she-goat. With bare hands, he rushed with great courage, and for once, he forgot his natural fears for the wild beast. He threw a killer punch aiming straight on Lion’s throat. The way the jungle king leapt and ran for its own life was a marvel to watch, but most importantly, the old man managed to save the goat from the jaws of the beast.

He told my grandfather that he could not have imagined what the demise of the only she-goat could have meant to him. It was going to permanently inhibit his hopes of raising a family of goats at his farm, and that was what gave him the courage.

I cannot tell with certainty whether the story was the accurate account of what happened or not. But am sure that we can learn something from it.

Indeed fear of what must be feared is what has caused many to continue wallowing in utter poverty. Most of the people nurse the fear of leaping out of the current predicament which is well known for perpetuating their setbacks. The only solution to this kind of fear lies in an individual’s ability to respond effectively to setbacks. An individual’s level of response to knowledge in every aspect is the only accurate measure of his or her readiness to succeed.

Many people are afraid of attempting to leap into the deep even when they know that it is the abode of the Angel they’ve always dreamed of seeing, preferring the devil (poverty) they are used to. Whatever the reason for maintaining the relationship with the devil, the end result must just be clear that they are hell bound.