On last week Wednesday a colleague passed on to glory when he came under a heavily sickness for the past two weeks. It was a moment of mourning in the workplace on Thursday as his absence stung and created a gulf in our hearts. On Friday, I headed home after an outing on the farmers’ day when I reached the road I often take. As I trekked further, my mind tossed the idea that I would meet him on the way were I to go further. Then later, it warned me of the likelihood of running into thugs. Now this is the easiest route to my destination, and the one I often travel on. I paused, not wanting to be foolhardy, to scan the environment. I looked back, left and right—the kind often taught by the Roads and Safety Commission to pedestrians before crossing any road. I gave out a loud ‘hmmm’ and then changed route. Now this may appear lone, simple, however, a deeper analysis of the pattern would reveal the gem to the failure of many people in our society today.
Why is your life short of the miracle or that breakthrough to your brighter future? Why is your situation pitiful? How come your life is replete with tears day in and out? Are you not tired of your unemployed situation? What are you doing about all these things?
The mind, for centuries, has played men fools and others wise. It has proven a gem leading to the explosion of millionaires and billionaires in the lives of certain persisting individuals, while leading others to destruction. The mind is susceptible to negative influences and would throw up such negativities to us if we allow it. However, our experiences of things or situations of the past contribute to this weakness of the mind. These experiences provide the history upon which the mind falls on in moment of immediate decision-making. Now since one cannot change his past, he has to strive to change what he thinks of in any one situation. Or to simplify it, one has to change what he believes in – his self-belief.
On another level, we fail to take risks that are necessary for our breakthroughs because the mind tells us that we would hit the rock if we did. In moments as this, the inspiration that got us up the hill would be ventilated into the air. Then we become empty once more. We dread trying. However, this is what I know—that hardship, pain, and challenges are messengers of success. They prepare us for the coming of success. Our endurance and preparedness to fight on embolden us in readiness for the challenges success presents. Some people, faintly, think that success means total enjoyment, happiness, and challenges-free. If it were so, the rich folks should be the happiest individuals on earth. It’s not so. Success comes with a baggage of challenges which could be fought by those who have gone through the mill. Don’t just believe what others tell you about life. Life to one individual is what s/he experiences, and not what others tell him. What if you did not experience what they went through? Work on your mind.
Like the things we learned in the society while growing up, the things of the mind are not true. We cannot at all times fall on what the mind dictates to us. Though they may be warning signs, they will make mockery of us if we let it. If I had focused and remained on the road, I’d have reached home early and clean. However, I took the long road dotted with trees wailing in my ears as I filled passed them. I realized I was more cautious on this new route than I’d have been on my usual one. I am not suggesting foolhardiness, but we all need to embrace risk and change to bring about improvement in our lives. And we can do this by; cherishing one’s experiences in life and believing in oneself. They represent what makes you unique. Hold on to your dreams. It could have been a mirage. Or delusion of the mind. The death of your mind is poverty. Work on your mind.