A quote might be positive, but it does not mean it will work in every aspect of your life. You need the wisdom to apply the quote correctly to the right circumstance in order not to ruin your life and become a failure. You need the correct application of the quotes. You need to know when to apply them and when to discard them and implement something else that will work in this instance.

I know I should never give up on my dream no matter what. I have dreamt all my life to become a medical doctor. At the young age of sixteen, I visited the local hospital to assist a family nurse in her shift, and most of the doctors took an interest to train me. Meanwhile, I was waiting to pass the joint entrance examination that will enable me to study medicine at the university. It has been four years since writing my final exams, and I have been unable to achieve the cut off mark needed to study medicine in all the universities that offer medicine. My cut off mark was brilliant for another discipline, but I refused to give up, I kept hanging there believing one day my turn will come. I believe my season of breakthrough is on the way. I stayed focused and continued to believe.

Truth is you need to know when to let go instead and stop holding on. By this time most of my mates were in their final year, and I was still holding on. Every day we hear amazing quotes that inspire: “Life is a struggle. Life will throw curveballs at you; it will humble you, it will attempt to break you down. And when you think things are starting to look up, life will smack you back down with ruthless indifference. The reason most people never achieve dreams is that they give up. Life was never meant to be easy – it is a constant struggle, with extreme lows and extreme highs. Remember that the times when its most important to persevere are the times that you will are most tested. Never give up on what you want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts. Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” I refused to quit.

These are compelling quotes, but experiencing the power they possess, you must apply them in the right context. In the subconscious you have a file that says, ‘do not give up no matter what,’ it becomes hard to let go. Letting go is one of the hardest lessons in life, whether it is guilt, pain, loss or love. You must understand that change is inevitable, yet it is not easy. You always fight to hold on, and you struggle to let go. It is tough and hard, but often it is the healthiest path forward. It clears the way, brings something fresh into your life, gives you peace of mind. It clears out the toxins, the filthiest, the ugliness of the past and paves the way to make the most positive use of the present.

While holding on to study medicine, the times were changing, but I stuck in the past. I was past tense. I was not enjoying life in the present moment. It was not an accident that I was scoring the exact mark that will make me an engineer. The universe was speaking to me, I was busy screaming at the universe, and we were both not listening. I found myself in a very terrible situation. I needed to be rescued from myself, my pride and ego. I needed to move on if only I could.

The world stood still, and suddenly I was alone. I was sweating and confused. I was in a valley, and it looks like I was not going to make it out of the valley. It was around Christmas in 1990. I have been working hard the last four years to be a medical doctor. Things have been rough. I was unable to pass the cutoff mark to study medicine. The universities rejected me for the past four years, and I am not getting any younger. Some of my classmates have already graduated from the university, and I am yet to pass the exam that will get me admitted. My cutoff mark was very reasonable to study engineering. I need to decide what to do. I need to listen. I excluded myself from the noise of the world to search my soul.

My deliberation was not accessible. I lost my mind in the deep as I contemplate. I was in this shadow all alone, and suddenly, I thought then I heard a distant voice. At this time it was like an angel was whispering to me, the heaven has opened up. It was the echo of a song; it was the man in the mirror by the late Michael Jackson. The song went deep into my veins, arteries, cells and heart. It was a clear message. It is time to move on. I have stayed too long here. I have held on too long on something that was not going to work for me, not because it is not good, but it is not my destiny. I must accept it is not.
 
[Verse 1]
I’m gonna make a change
For once in my life
It’s gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right
As I turned up the collar on my favourite winter coat
This wind is blowin’ my mind
I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see their needs
A summer’s disregard, a broken bottle top
And one man’s soul
They follow each other on the wind ya know
Cause they got nowhere to go
That’s why I want you to know

[Chorus]
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change

[Verse 2]
I’ve been a victim of a selfish kinda love
It’s time that I realise
There are some with no home
Not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me pretending that they’re not alone
A willow deeply scarred, somebody’s broken heart
And a washed out dream
They follow the pattern of the wind ya see
Cause they got no place to be
That’s why I’m starting with me

You are going to decide and make a change for once in your life. You pretend when you know it is not working and keep holding on. To let go, you need to renew your faith in yourself. Faith means finding the willingness to live with uncertainty, to feel your way through life, to let your intuition guide you like a flashlight in the dark. It is time to let go and choose for yourself. Let go of what you are holding on that is holding you back. Be courageous to let go!