We were all created to become something and contribute significantly to our world. One thing that we can never take away from one another, is the fact that we are all human beings, we are the same in so many ways yet so different in so many other ways. Each and every one of us was uniquely made; thus we all have special gifts and special attributes that separate us from one another. These gifts are what we need to fulfil our destinies, and many times we are unaware of what we poses, so we go through different experiences in our lives until we discover our purpose. This means that we can identify with our circumstances, with our lessons, because that is where the dream lies.
We are all relevant and very significant to this world, to our country, to our community, to our families and friends.
There is room for all of us in the world, and for as long as you are operating in the area of your specialty and gift then, you can never be too much, because you are not doing everything at once. There is enough room at the top for everyone that wants to get to the top but there is also enough room at the middle stage and at the bottom. However, you are the only one that determines the level at which you want to be. For you to be where you are today is simply because you chose to stay there, if you want to go backwards you can as well do that, you can also make the choice to go forward, it usually starts with a choice. You can start over today; you can start over right now if you want to. It is really up to you.
The interesting thing about life is that you also have a part/role to play in the puzzle of life; no talent is too big or too small. The world is in chaos today because some people died with some of the pieces to the puzzle, some are not dead yet, but they are sitting on solutions, solutions that I might need to better myself and better the future. The world is also in chaos today because some people refuse to use the resources that were given to them, instead they frustrate themselves with trying to be excellent in an area where they know they are only average, and as a result, we have a list of angry, depressed and frustrated people walking the earth. They dump their negative baggage on anyone that wants to go forward. These people will tell you that you can’t do this and you can’t do that because they couldn’t.
Please do not listen to those who tell you that you cannot do it because most of the times they are only telling you this because they themselves listened to a voice that told them that they couldn’t do it. Robin Sharma once said that the more time you spend thinking about other people’s dreams, the less time you have for yours.
But I think the world would be a better place if we would only use what we already have, some people have treasures stored up inside of them, and these treasures are busy collecting dust somewhere while these people focus on things that make them average, this is a very important lesson that I learned from my friend John Maxwell. He taught me that if we focus on our weaknesses, we will only really become average, but if we focus on our strengths we will definitely succeed. Now I want to tell you my friend, that there is no significance in being average, unless of course you become the most average person there ever lived. There is however a lot of significance in being the best at what you do, when I was growing up, a good friend of mine always used to say, “ Be yourself because nobody can ever beat you at being you.” Gone are the days when our parents had to decide for us who we should become, my mom always said that she wanted one of her children to be a doctor and the other one a teacher, but I hated it, I didn’t want to become a teacher, I’m not very patient, I would just get high blood pressure and I cannot sit and mark all those answer scripts by myself, what would I do with myself after one o’clock?
Please don’t get me wrong, I respect teachers and I think they are very brave and very patient as well, because they put up with so much every day, can you imagine how one parent can struggle with two naughty boys at home every day, while a teacher has to struggle with 30 learners on a daily basis of whom only three are well disciplined, and she has to put up with all of them because she is helping them realise their dreams. A teacher is someone who helps us take huge steps to our dreams. I love teaching others yes, but not in an academic set up, I am a teacher in my own league. But I’m glad I didn’t give in to my mom’s demands because today I would have been very frustrated, depressed and unfulfilled. I would put my stress on those poor children every day, I would drag myself to school every morning and teach my learners to be negative, I would tell them that they are useless and that they would never amount to anything. I would have contributed to the chaos of this world.
Make yourself relevant today, come out and be felt, be heard if you have to. Become the best and make yourself relevant, please don’t sit on all those brilliant ideas and dreams, give them a chance to live. Do not be afraid, fear cripples us, and steals from us, it doesn’t make us any better, it makes us worse off, but pain and disappointment makes us brave and strong, which in the end plays well in our favour. So don’t be afraid to do what you love, to do what you can do best. Don’t make the mistake of measuring your success and achievements against those of others, neither should you measure your happiness against that of another because we all take a different and unique journey in life, and thus, our abilities and disabilities are different. Remain focused and work at your own pace. You will get there sooner or later depending on the amount of work/effort you put in. Take that chance and explore your abilities, go beyond your disabilities and let the world see your light.
Sesilia Nekwaya is a young economist at the Bank of Namibia whose dream is to make a difference in someone’s life, whether big or small. Writing this article, Nekwaya hopes this article speaks in greater volumes.