Karlos Naimwhaka
Since time immemorial, stories have been told about people who have risen above undesirable circumstances; people who have single-handedly decided to take charge of their life and moved beyond the comfort of mediocrity.
These stories may be different, and their circumstances vary, but one thing is common. That is the fact that the price of such transformation is heavy. Because, as the saying goes, no pain no gain and, great transformation is only for those who are willing to sacrifice comfort and endure pain.
These stories have also one more thing in common – they tell repeatedly that everything we ever want is always waiting on the other side of everything we dread to do and the fears of the stuff we are afraid to face.
However, for successful transformation to happen, it is just not about being ready for the pain but even more important to understand that it is a gradual process. The reason many of us fail or relapse in the process of self-transformation is that we first fail at understanding this one very important aspect. Just as you cannot get a six-pack in one day at the gym, so is the same with transformation, and that biting more than we can chew can be the biggest step to a failed transformation attempt.
It is also not really our fault, at least not directly, because living in the world of microwaves and instant gratification sets us up for obstacles towards our goal, because we want things to happen at the snap of our fingers and with little effort. This has attributed to most of the mediocre qualities we exhibit today, manifesting themselves in the forms of impatience, intolerance, and a generation of snowflakes.
As the many stories have told, there is no doubt that besides the things beyond our control, most of our misery and distress is a result of our reluctance to give up our comfort. There is also no doubt that to move from mediocrity and being average is to stop procrastinating on the things we need to do; be it quitting a bad habit, working on our relationships with others or simply just writing that book we have been dreading.
Of course, there are things that we want that may not be in our means to make possible but for things to happen externally, something must happen within us, first. It starts with first believing that one needs to make a change and take responsibility for that change. It starts with believing that the power is in one’s hand, and the universe is always ready to provide supportive circumstances when one is ready and acts.
For transformation to happen, it must first happen in the mind. It starts with creating and painting the picture of the end goal. More importantly, because of the mind that has been programmed for instant gratification, great transformation happens when one is willing to go beyond where the mind ends. It happens at the point that when the mind tells you to stop, one chooses to keep going.
This is even more practical when it comes to physical transformation, which eventually translates into transformation in many other areas of our lives. We eventually realise that when we can push ourselves to run just one more extra kilometre when the mind says we are tired, the more it is also easier to put off habits that keep us mediocre and depressed. Enough to say, that self-transformation is the gateway to optimum mental wellness one could ever imagine and, as well as a great life!
E-mail: karlsimbumusic@gmail.com
Uncommon Sense is published every Friday in the New Era newspaper with contributions from Karlos Naimwhaka