Life always places a barrier on our path. How you perceive it determines how you react or handle it. Do you see it as something concrete and insurmountable? Or do you see it as something to challenge you to go inside yourself, and bring out a solution that would take you to a new frontier?
Take for instance, you meet a wall on your way in the forest,
what do you do? You can look at the wall
as insurmountable and turn back; and that means no further movement in that
direction. Another way to face the challenge is to fret with anger at the
barrier. Another way but a funny one is to sit there and cry while blaming anyone in sight for the presence of the barrier, the challenge.
On the other hand, you can see it as something that can be
overcome with effort. And thereafter, you go about to devise a means of overcoming the challenge. It could look tough, even daunting, and may involve
some bruises but you have taken the first step, which is to accept that it’s something that can be overcome, not a crushing blow.
Here’s a story from Ricka
When I gave
up my well paid job to go into the world of entrepreneurship I thought it would
be a smooth transition. All my calculations were thought to be flawless. Each
time I review it all I saw was success.
But when
the time came, when I eventually made the jump, things I had not expected, and of which nobody would have anticipated, rolled in.
Was I terrified?
Yes; hugely.
As they
rolled in, they flattened and punctured every bit of my plan. One of them was
the intrusion of cellphone which altered the communication landscape in Nigeria.
As this was happening, there was the issue of stock exchange crash. That was
not all. A building I was putting up and nearing completion was demolished,
alongside others, by the government on the basis that the land was committed. It
was then we learnt that the surveyor we employed did not do a proper filing of
his survey, otherwise he would have known. As if that was not enough, the
equipment I imported for a company was not taken up; and it is was special
equipment. Not many companies use it, so we were stuck with it.
At the end, the only thing I can see as evidence
that I had worked for so long was my newly purchased car. All the savings and
whatever I was paid when I left employment were gone. To dip my frustration
further, I am not even on pension, having been paid my entitlements in lump
sum at the point of exit.
To make it
even worse, my wife was then not even working.
We had just started raising our family and we had taken decision against
her working so that she could give the children adequate attention that they
deserve.
Initially,
I did not understand what was going on, and was completely at a loss. After a
week in the associated mood, my wife came to me and suggested we should sell
the car. Sell the car? I had my reservation but at the same time thought that
was a good suggestion. The next day the car was put out for sale. I didn’t mind
what neighbors would say.
The money
from the sale of the car was like a fresh breath from the wind of heaven. It
simultaneously gave me the motivation to look at other directions to take.
Ricka has
not fully recovered from that bundle of challenges but he is doing well, moving
along as best he could with life.
The story of Rick, above, was stunning. “Life has, indeed, sorely tested this guy,” I thought,
as he sat across the table, a thin smile on his face, perhaps, of triumph. Knowing Ricka, he would not have been done in.
“Just one of those life’s challenges” Ricka said of his ordeals as he caught me
starring at him.
One thing I saw, though, of Ricka as he left my off was that
he is now less arrogant, more humble and tends now to appreciate what other
people go through. The illusion of a high paying job, most time, does not allow
us to see the true reality of life.
Challenges sharpen our spirit of inquiry. It pushes up our
survival skill. And that is what is propelling humanity forward, through the
field of science, religion, sports…to get to the best inside us.
Cars need some kind of rough surfaces, friction, to run
better. Electricity could not have become a normal part of us if not for the
limitation posed by the darkness of the night. It is the same with airplanes.
At this point, I would like to ask a question: How are you
viewing a challenge facing you right now. Leave a comment, and our community
which is ready to learn from your situation, share their insight into it.
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