Complacency, a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements, is a dangerous thing. Great things never come from comfort zones. Life is such that if you rest on your oars, there is a possibility that you would lose your position in the scheme of things. So get better, get stronger and get wiser……..
What are you giving the world? One of the tragedies of mankind is the habit of wanting to reap where we have not sown. You and I were born into this world to give to mankind. Some of us would unwittingly leave the universe without making any worthwhile contributions. The irony about life is the more needs you meet the more you get what you want out of life. I once asked a young man what his goals were for the New Year. Prominent among the things he listed was a brand new four wheel drive. He was specific about the model and its color as well as its specs. Then i asked him: “so what are you willing to give in return?”. He looked at me stunned. Then he said, “nothing!’ My reaction was simple: “Then you are a thief!” If we all seek to make honest contributions to this world our own needs would be met. The more people we help, the more we get out of life. So change your philosophy today. Seek to help more people with your gift. The more you help the better you become and the more you get out of this world. Think more like this and there is no way you will not prosper.
Everyman has a gift and if we are serious about life we will use that gift to the utmost, leaving nothing wanting. A gift is something significant we do with little effort. There are people who can go through complex procedures without breaking as much as a sweat because it is natural to them. Some gifts are hidden within us and they only come out when we are challenged in certain situations. I would like to use myself as an example. I started life as journalist, writing stories for a newspaper in Nigeria. I had spent close to 15 years at that job when one day I discovered that I could teach and motivate people too! I say I discovered it because it happened by accident.
I was working as a magazine editor in Accra, Ghana. A country located in West Africa. My boss was invited to speak to large number of managers at a business summit. But he was in London at the time. Being the next in line, his secretary suggested that I go and represent him. The representation required that I give an address and discuss some of the business experiences of our company in Ghana. I gave the address and did the discussion to the best of my knowledge. At the end of the conference I was approached by Chief Executive Officer of a training institute who wanted me to speak at his organization on weekends. Before I knew what was happening, I made an inroad into training and public speaking. It was after I discovered that I had this talent that I opted to go for higher education in Ghana to give me yet more background and expertise.
Once we identify our gifts we ought not to rest on our oars we should work at it, hone the gift like a woods man sharpening his axe before he fells a tree. The sharper the axe, the easier it is to cut the tree. Musicians who play instruments do well to master the instrument of their interest. Renowned Nigerian artiste Femi Kuti plays the saxophone. Currently he holds the world record for blowing one note on the saxophone for the longest period. Femi once claimed that it takes up to eight hours a day of many years of practice for a musician to master his instrument. Giving your best involves knowing your gift excellently well, but not that alone. We mentioned earlier that we need to set goals.
Life is meaningless without goals. Can you imagine a football match with no goal posts? It is meaningless. 22 adults kicking a football around a pitch for 90minutes with nothing to look forward to, nothing to strive to achieve. We can only give our best in life if we set goals for ourselves and work towards achieving them. We must consistently challenge ourselves to do better at whatever we are called to do. There is nothing more discouraging than yesterday’s achievements. John Rohn millionaire motivational speaker says we should work harder on ourselves than we do on our jobs. What that means is don’t settle for less. Be the best! Keep pushing forward; never be satisfied with your level of development with your gift. When we do not make an effort at improving or doing better complacency may set in. Complacency, a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements, is a dangerous thing. Great things never come from comfort zones. Life is such that if you rest on your oars, there is a possibility that you would lose your position in the scheme of things. So get better, get stronger and get wiser. That is the way to go!
By: Alex Ogundadegbe.
