In as much as, many a person on this planet has someone they look up to and try to emulate. In the aspect of a role model, more often than not, we may not have met physically with the person before. Also, in a related previous post – MY ROLE MODEL - apart from the individual I mentioned, I gave an exposition on why having such could be subjective to a different facet of life. Now, come to think of it – with your present state, can you and I be role models to someone else? Well, even though this does not imply having pride and I am still growing and learning, I believe there are some things I possess which will definitely affect another person positively.
Ever since I got into senior secondary school and with the help of what I have seen others do, I have understood the importance of planning for the future. Even though there is a popular saying that “Man proposes, God disposes’, I agree. But that does not downplay the fact that he who does not plan plans to fail. The ability to foresee the future had helped me to start some things at present, and in the same vein, I have avoided things that I know are either not needed presently or detrimental to the health of the future.
In as much as I plan ahead of time both in my head and most times written down, I have come to the standpoint where I do not worry about achieving them. According to Apostle Joshua Selman, “Worry does not solve anything”. This does not mean the feeling to worry won’t come but it is left to me to determine the duration it takes. For example, the recent news about the Lecturers’ strike being called off got me and I was worried about how I would juggle school with Hive, my photography lessons, and a host of others thing. But then, I remember that that won’t solve anything. The solution: I start to sing songs especially songs of praise. When I do this, I do feel a relief – an air of peace around me. I’d like to reiterate that worry is different from thinking creatively. The latter also entails strategic planning as mentioned earlier.
“When you get to Rome, you behave like a Roman”.
As much as that is germane, it is still not to a safe extent. I’d explain. Personally, my parents trained me and my siblings that whenever we get to a new place to keep a low profile. Isn’t that kind of in contrast to that above? Maybe. The thing is before you behave like a Roman in Rome, you need to give it a little time. That little time is needed to scout around, learn the ways and study the place before you come out of your assumed shell. Now, the “place” encapsulates systems, atmosphere, organization, and physical environment. Now, you can then fully behave like a true Roman. But without this, if one jumps into a system and starts to shake grounds, one won’t take long to get into oblivion.
Moreover, this also entails the fact that before I get to a new place, I make sure to take every opportunity to learn from those around me. Not only from their success stories but also their experiences and failure. I tell you these are what strengthen and retrain me from doing certain things.
I know most of us claim to be busy – busy doing something or nothing. Busy is busy, right?. As much as, I may be busy building, busy doing my things, I still afford to make sure to communicate with my family and friends. Basically, these people are the ones who have helped shape me into who I am presently. So, why on earth would I drift apart from them at this little stage I am? Nothing, because the journey, my people, is still far. What I do in order to be able to capture my communications with them, if not physical meetings, is to schedule a day either weekly or monthly to speak to them all on phone. The two categories are based on the level of distance (not physical) between us. When I keep in touch per time, it is an avenue to say distinctly that “you still matter to me, I can’t forget you” and indirectly say “I have more to learn from you”.
This is one mistake some people do, they tend to neglect those instrumental to their growth due to the limited time they may have. Having little time is not a bad thing but it is when there is no structure to get back to the drawing board through them. Most times, apart from a mentor, these people are the ones who see certain things that you don’t. And when you take time to engage with them, as a human, they’ll appreciate knowing fully well that you took out time out of the limited time you have. You made them know that they still matter!
Well, as a human, I may have two dissimilar sides. But like I said earlier, I am still in the training room and I don’t see myself leaving soon. More work needs to be done on me, my thinking, my understanding, etc. per time. This is so that I believe I am on a long journey to impact lives positively. Maybe I’d actually be a true model!
This is my entry for the Hive Learners week 31 edition 3 topic.
