No Test No Promotion

No Test No Promotion                                                                                              090510

                Everyone in life looks forward to being promoted from one level to the next. Many people are frustrated when this does not happen when they want it to happen or as often as they think it should. But promotion does not happen at random. Every time someone gets promoted there has to be a test of some sort that has to be passed. Most people do not want this part of the promotion process because they are afraid of failure.

                Those who have been promoted ahead of you are not perfect. This is the reason why you frown when you hear they have been promoted. What distinguishes them from you may be that they choose to face challenges more often. It is true that if you look at their history, they may have made more blunders than you have. But have you tried to check how many successes they have scored compared to you? Those who accomplish great things in life usually make more mistakes than the rest. It is in making mistakes that they gain knowledge about how to be successful. It is better, in reality, to promote someone who will make mistakes but score some successes than someone who makes no mistakes and at the same time producing no results because he/she is afraid of making mistakes.

                Everyday we grow from stage to stage. A child when born cannot walk or run. As time goes on it starts to sit unsupported. After a couple of bruises from falling the child learns to stand on its own.  After some more falls he learns to walk. The child who does not want to fall will not learn how to walk. It is in making mistakes that the child learns the art of walking. When you look at yourself today you do not think about it when you want to walk. There was once a time, however, when you could not walk, let alone stand. Throughout life you had to progress from stage to stage and you did. The problem with adults is that there is a fear that they have that makes it difficult for them to progress in life.

                The academic world is another area where we see promotion coming after being tested. Those who go to secondary school have to sit for the grade seven test. How you do is no longer an issue since some people who have done badly in the test find themselves at high school. This is because education is a fundamental right which every child is entitled to. All the same, if you want to go to the best schools in the land you must produce some good marks otherwise there is no place for you. From O’ Level to A’ Level requires that you accomplish some good results at the former level. The same is true from A’ Level to university. There is no shortcut to promotion.

                In your life today; if you look closely you will find that there are a number of places that you want to be that you have not yet reached. Some of them are within reach if you choose to work at getting there. Others seem out of reach to you. In all these situations you will find that the only way to get the promotion to the next level is to face some opposition and overcome. If there is no test, there is not going to be progress. Tests, by nature, are not a pleasant experience. If, however, we do not face them, there is no way of knowing how much we are learning in life. Every genuine student dreads the examination but those who do well appreciate that their efforts would not be appreciated without a test.

                If you are going to be successful in life you have to choose to face the tests that come your way. There is always a way of avoiding these tests but the person who will be frustrated in the end is you. Those who have repeated a grade know how frustrating to sit in class with those you considered juniors just a year ago. For those who would have been nasty to these juniors it is even worse because they are constantly reminded of that fact. The frustration is made worse if the individual would have repeated because of missing an exam.

                Do not be afraid of tests, they give you a chance to prove who you are and get promotion. Look at the testing stage as a stepping stone towards greater heights. The tests you pass in your academic life give you progress in that dimension. Those you pass in your social life do the same in that direction. If you want to progress spiritually you have to pass spiritual tests. Remember there is no shortcut to promotion.