What does it mean when people say ‘do not lose hope’? Everybody has heard this being said to them at some stage in life, but, unfortunately, some of us remain unaware of its true meaning.

Many people think this phrase is just a combination of different words with a general meaning. But the phrase is more than that. It contains a deeper meaning. If spoken in the right way, to the right person and at the right time, the power of this sentence can change the life of many people. It carries hope for the hopeless, water for the thirsty, food for the hungry and a home for the homeless.

Our mistake is that we don’t understand things clearly. Many people, when they try new things, do become successful. However, some do fail and then they lose hope. And instead of working hard or learning from their mistakes, these people blame others, which is wrong.

Failure is one of the different shades of life, we should try to learn from our mistake. Failure should be used to teach us valuable lessons, and not stop us from trying again.

For instance, I love cakes and brownies. One day I decided to make a cake and it took me an hour to bake it. But the cake was super hard. I realised that I had not used baking powder. It was a lesson to me.

The second time I baked a chocolate cake, I used baking powder. It was super soft, but the cake was very sweet. The third time I baked a cake, I measured the sugar properly according to the recipe and the cake turned out super tasty.

You see, I didn’t lose hope despite facing failures. My mother always tells me that ‘you can get a thing wrong twice and thrice, but in the end, you will get it right’.

Another thing that people lose is patience. Everyone needs to act with patience and everybody’s life can change with the help of patience. Be patient, keep on working hard and learn from your mistakes – these are the special ingredients for a beautiful and successful life. To become a successful person, everyone has to struggle.

JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, got rejected by 12 publishers, but did Rowling lose hope. If she had, then we would not have had the Harry Potter books.

Another shining example of someone who did not lose hope is that of Quaid-i-Azam. If he had, we wouldn’t be living in a free country. When Allama Iqbal put forward his idea, it seemed totally impossible, but Quaid-i-Azam and other leaders at the time didn’t lose hope and remained patient.

This should also be a source of guidance for us. I don’t know if this article will get published or not, but I will not lose hope.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 17th, 2021