When things don't seem right in the first place, what do you do? Do you take a decision rashly thereafter or try to initiate a conversation about it?
Many of us have had to make some rash decisions without thinking over it many times just because of the current situation that shows up unexpectedly, and instead of doing the right thing which is conveying your thoughts about it, you make a decision that might not be the right thing to do especially when you have to consider the humongous responsibilities staring at you.
Sometimes, all we need is to communicate. Communication is something necessary and important in every aspect of life, if it is missing, it makes us regret our next step. If we do not take the step to communicate first to know what went wrong and how to resolve an issue, we end up blaming the other person and coming to a judgemental stage. Lack of communication breeds negative judgement and it ruins relationships if we must know. The other person may not know why you are hurting when you ought to have approached him or her to express your thoughts and feelings on a matter. Communication is important.
Some weeks back, I relied on a family to always charge my gadgets because they were the only ones in the neighbourhood putting on the generator every night. Considering a town that has no stable electricity that it takes months to bring the light and when it comes, it only lasts for a few hours and that is it till another time when no one knows when. Charging at their place even when it isn't convenient was my priority every night if I had to stay online. Suddenly, they stopped people from entering their home to charge at night.
I felt pissed at first and started thinking of different ways to charge my phone. There was no other means except where I work at my PPA which they only put on the solar or generator for a little moment. One night, I was frustrated and started thinking about different things which almost got me to make a rash decision until I sought advice from my sister. I had wanted to get a generator to power up the light once in a while and I remembered my aunt telling me I could come take her generator for the time being. I already called her to discuss things with her which she accepted I come over to pick it up. At that moment, I was not thinking of anything else but to grant my desire as soon as possible.
I agreed to come over to pick the gen when, the next day, I decided to speak to my sister about it. She is someone that I talk to anytime I want to do something and need her opinion and she has always given me the options to weigh and decide on my own to know which is best for me. Yes, I could afford a generator while taking on the responsibility that comes with it. I also thought of getting a solar but I discovered the one I could afford wouldn't charge my laptop but my phone and torchlight, I let go of that decision and concluded on getting the generator.
After I spoke with my sister, she laid down some cons of using a generator especially when fuel prices have gone up, the inconveniences of having to service the generator, resolving the issue of plugs and the like. She made me understand that taking my aunt's own isn't the right thing because problems could arise later if there is a fault with the generator. Aside from these issues, she called my attention to the responsibilities at hand as a sibling who has 2 other siblings in the University, cousins who keep coming for help, taking care of myself and other bills that would show up unexpectedly. Now, if I add a generator to it, then the bills and responsibilities would be much on me.
I realized I might be wrong if I should go for the decision of getting a generator when there are still lots of bills to attend to. She finally gave me the idea of discussing things with the family first to understand what is the cause of them not allowing people to come in and charge. You see, at that point, I realized I should have had a communication with them to know what caused it and how to go about it.
After work that day, I visited them and discussed at length with them and they had to let me understand what happened and why they weren't allowing outsiders in anymore but only gave those living in the compound the chance to come in and charge. Guess what? Other neighbours had been going to charge while taking a different route but I failed to communicate which made things the way they were until I talked about it to my sister. Now, I can go in anytime to charge my gadgets and things have been going on fine since then.
Communication is important in relating with people so you don't end up judging or making others feel they are selfish, bad or wicked to act that way. We cannot know why people do things until we approach them for smooth communication, and then we realize we have been wrong all the while. Let's endeavour to keep communicating with people before coming to a conclusion and making wrong decisions that might make one regret in the end.