It’s good to assume the position for what you want to be; an essential part for putting yourself in that state of mind ready to achieve it! The idea is if you can act it, you can become it.
Our lives are determined by everybody else!
I think this has to be my weirdest post ever but have you ever thought about it though?
I woke up this morning with the post tagline in my head, a bit weird but I think there is definitely some truce to it. Although, I like to think I have been placed in control of my life by God and by His guidance determine every step I take and that God makes things happen that are meant to happen aka Destiny, thinking back even right to the beginning made me realise our lives are never really “ours”.
Now, so that you understand what I am talking about here, I’m going to start from the very beginning.
Think about this: You are born, the decision to have children was never your own, it was all down to the parents and how many kids they wanted. Ok, sometimes the unexpected happens and an unplanned pregnancy occurs but that is also based on the decision to have sex. Even before you were born, decisions had to be made – all the antenatal related care, where and how it is done, baby care related items and all the other important stuff that happens before a birth are all determined by either your parents, the healthcare system or the social norm. It doesn’t end there.
Growing up, the way you were nurtured and catered for was not for you to decide. You never got to decide the day you would be weaned off breast milk, what clothes you wore, when you were taken for strolls in the stroller and the list goes on! I think you’re starting to get a clearer picture. Let’s move on!
So, it’s time for school…whether kindergarten, nursery, or primary, you never got to decide, it was all based on what the parents felt was better and how it worked for them. Ok, to be fair, you might have had a bit of an influence on the secondary schools and universities you went to but parental input was still the deciding factor and often other factors such as cost always came into play which were not really down to your parents but to their jobs and their incomes. In that sense, even people you never knew decided for you.
Ok, so things start to get a bit simpler now, the baton gets passed down and it is no longer your parents who determine your progress through life but you. But that is not all, the decisions are still not solely yours. Think about this; how you progressed academically was not mainly due to your academic success although that did count a lot but your progress could also be attributed to how people felt about you. Your teachers, the schools board etc, they all had the final say based on your academic performance whether you progressed or not. This fact becomes even more noticeable at the higher levels of education, your progress is based on all other feelings apart from your own; how the tutor felt you performed in lectures, how they felt about your pieces of coursework etc. Don’t get me wrong, at this point we all have a better influence and our actions influence our progress more. That is however not the end.
So, education done, now it’s time for a job. You know your own abilities and capabilities but whether you get a job or not is based on other people and more importantly their feelings about you; their feelings about whether your skills match the available opportunities, their feelings at an interview and so much more. I guess a lot of us must know what I’m on about here. Not just that though, laws and the like can also be a restricting factor and all these are brought to place by other people. It goes on and on and on like that all through life which raises the question: Are we really in control of our lives?
(Props to http://www.veesh.com for the picture)
I think not. It is quite evident that all through life our lives are influenced by various people at each of the various stages. The world we live in is ever-changing and we’re all more intertwined than ever. The human race practices its own form of “survival of the fittest” – COMPETITION. The key to competing successfully lies in the way we make the people who influence our lives feel. To put it in a more informal manner, you have to learn to kiss butt. Do what you have to do to make yourself a success (being morally right of course) and just never give up.
Inspirational Thought for the Week
We need emotion with devotion not the commotion of emotion.
No Place for Number 2!
Here’s an interesting piece I found. I think this definitely applies to everyone in this day and age. Enjoy!
Original Title: A Place for Number 2? Props to BellaNaija.com – Written by Damilare Aiki
Yah, Yah, Yah (Cane slashes)
Yah! Yah! Yah!
Father: Junior, why did you get the second position in class?
Son: I’m sorry Papa, the boy only passed me with one mark!
Yah, Yah, Yah! (cane slashes continue)…
Son (crying): I’m sorry Papa…
It’s left for one to wonder if in this present society and generation the Number 2 position in any given capacity has been completely wiped out.
Everyone wants to be Number 1- from the artiste racing for his song to be number 1 on the countdown, to the actor fighting to get that Oscar winning role, the mother in the park proving to the other mothers that she’s superior, the intern trying to make it as a permanent employee, an employee getting a Ph.D to become the CEO of a company, the billionaire ensuring he makes more billions to be Number 1 on the Forbes richest men list and of course the politician fighting, killing and bribing to become the President.
In this age every one is fighting to be number 1, the chosen candidate, the Number 1 citizen in his or her own world.
If I ask anyone who the first man to walk on the moon was at least a good percentage would answer Neil Armstrong. But does anyone remember the second man to walk on the moon? His name was Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr, but it seems the world has forgotten him. The society we live in puts so much pressure on everyone to be Number 1, not knowing there is still value in being second. By watching the mistakes of Number 1, Number 2 can be even better.
I still keep searching and yearning for that society that will just accept people who can’t be Number 1. Some say I’m living in an utopian world that it is impossible! Well maybe I am. Here are examples of ‘Number 2′s making a difference in the world:
Are we to totally forget Will Smith’s character in the Pursuit Of Happyness just because Forest Whitaker’s took home the Oscar for his character in the Last King of Scotland?
Or to underrate Barack Obama‘s victory as the United States’ first African-American President just becauseMartin Luther King Jr was the first to state that was his dream?
Of course we should not! The 1st can dream, but the 2nd can make the dream come true.
Or should we diminish the vivacity and political message of modern futuristic disco drama queen Lady Gagabecause of the ever crazy styles of Madonna?
Or downplay Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie because of the great poetic writer Chinua Achebe?
No! Why hold on to past glory when Number 2 can be more relevant to today’s generation?
Society dictates that there are three kinds of people in this world – people who make things happen, people who watch things happen and people who don’t know things are happening. The cruel society we live in has classified Number 2s as those who just watch things happen as if they do not contribute positively to the society. While in the society’s so-called “sense” only Number 1s make things happen. For those that don’t even know things are happening, hmm, that will be a topic for another day o!
However, if society does not whole heartedly embrace those who watch things happen and improve on the status quo, the so-called Number 2s, then there is no hope for us.
Why? Because it seems this competition and race to be Number 1 has led to an increase in crime rate and various immoralities.
Young men kill and rob people, conduct online fee fraud, all to deceive their family and friends that they work really hard.
Young women in universities move around with “Sugar Daddies” that buy them the latest clothes and designer shoes and bags and not to forget people’s obsession with the new it-thing – the Blackberry craze – just to prove to their friends who the big girls are. They sleep with lecturers and bribe them just to get a first class degree because they do not want to settle for a second class degree on their own merit, ah O ma se o ! (What a pity !)
One wonders if there could be any place for Number 2s in this world. If the society we live in would ever acknowledge that it’s not how fast, but how well.
Until then… is there no choice but to keep fighting to be Number 1? Is there a place for Number 2?
You decide.
Photo Credit: www.amazingballoons.co.uk
Inspirational Thought for the Week
People make mistakes is no excuse for making a mistake; don’t be ”people”, just be yourself and do the right thing!
Inspirational Thought for the Week
To receive more, be grateful more.
Inspirational Thought for the Week
Family is not solely about whose blood you carry, it’s also about who you love.
Inspirational Thought for the Week
“Forever the optimist” is always the best way to go – a positive state of mind – but sometimes, its good to have a reality check to get rid of the delusion(s) in your mind.
Inspirational Thought for the Week
We all want what we don’t have but sometimes it’s good to stop and think, maybe all we have is all we really need?!
