Keep your eyes on the target...

It's my first day back to work since last week... Being home made me think somewhat of what I ultimately want to do and what I have to do for now until can do what see myself doing in my dreams. 

I must admit that when the days add up and turn into weeks, months, years... It feels as though you're just not getting anywhere and that your dreams will never come to fruition... Well, it feels that way, but not everything you feel is true! In fact those feelings are a defense mechanism that your body figures is okay to protect you against what you imagine as failure (that my own theory... Lol) I believe your body means well.

This is when you have to allow the will to take control of he situation! Tell yourself to focus on the bull's eye... It's what will keep you sane, and will definitely keep you going!! It's your little pep talks to yourself that need to get louder when you're getting somewhat distracted!

Here's to keeping your eyes on the target!! 

Fighting alone

This day was quite the challenge. Last week and the week before were was tough but this week feels psychologically worse. Past two weeks were BUSY so i could at least have my mind on other things, ie. WORK, and fixing the mess that i made. Now, i'm sort of on the right track and on the straight and narrow, there's no need for me to be overly focussed on passed errors but rather to keep the pace and not forget the commitments i made to myself.

So where does the challenge come in? Well when you're putting in time, doing things differently, reading more, praying more etc. it feels as though you're alone and there's no one who cares etc. truth of the matter is you're right... hmmmm NO BODY CARES!! In fact nobody has to! Yours is to keep on going, keep on keeping on! The reason very few people are multi million and billionaires is because a lot of people are doing the common thing which is to get study, get a job and abide by the system. Don't follow the crowd... Rather walk alone. Wak on the road less travelled it bares way more rewards!

So what exactly am I saying?...

Well, you're walking alone and that's just too bad and sad but be a man and just suck it up! We'll talk about support structures and motivation some time but as it stands... TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!!

Here's to fighting alone!!

Celebrating little victories

If ever there's anyone I know who's super hard on themselves it's me! I know exactly how to beat myself up, and I know what to beat myself up about and boy do I do that often and GOOD!! 

A little lesson I've had to teach myself is that the beatings aren't always necessary!! Sometimes you have to let thins go and other times you have to celebrate even those things that haven't worked out!!! Why celebrate things that haven't worked out? Well, because thy weren't meant to be. "All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose." Rom 8:28 and now instead of ranting and raving when things don't work out or when I have made a mistake I do one or 2 of 3 things, beat myself up, give myself a pep or have a praise party and celebrate because what looks like defeat is actually victory, because I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ my Lord (Rom 8:37).

Now when things go right on the other hand there's no picking and choosing you have to celebrate even small victories, in as many ways as possible because in as much as I beat myself up for things I do wrong, I have to reward myself for even those things that don't seem to count! Small victories add up you know, they are the building blocks for big, visible victories! 

It'll be a difficult exercise if it's something you're not used to doing but it'll be well worth the try!

Here's to celebrating small victories!!

Try methods of working I've never tried before

Albert Einstein defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results! 

I think I'm insane, and the I'm ok with saying that because I've heard that psychologists say that the first step to recovery is admitting that there's actually something wrong with, and there you go I admitted it (•_•)

I've noticed that a lot of the reason why some of us aren't achieving our full potential is because we're afraid of trying the alternative of what we're already doing, ie. doing a task differently, trying  completely new ways of doing things. I believe our greatest fear is stepping into the unknown and actually succeeding, fear of succeeding!! You never would've thought of this right? But the reality is that there's so muh uncertainty in succeeding, and guess what? It just gets worse and worse!! But the secret is not to fear this but to embrace the possibility of a life filled with adventure!

When someone presents me with the opportunity of trying something ice never tried before, depending on what it is I will usually shun away from this, and guess what that's called? Shooting yourself in the toes because a lot of the opportunities that are presented to us are a direct call out of a comfort zone and into a place that you may just fully enjoy if you play your cards right!

If it isn't a part of your character to allow the wind to carry you all sorts of interesting directions, I suggest you start opening your mind to such possibilities if you don't want to be left behind by the rest of us who are willing to at least try!!

Here's to trying different ways of doing things!!

Put in the time...

I'm a firm believer in chilling. Some experiences have taught me that chilling is of utmost importance! You need to rest (even though you may sometimes feel guilty for taking time out), you need to have some quiet time as in time doing absolutely NOTHING! 

With the same breath, however, I'm also a strong believer in working hard! And putting in the time! I must be honest upfront and admit that I haven't been doing this very honestly lately which means I have cheated myself of 3 years that could've been used and cultivated on other skills! The idea is that whatever time you put in will not come back to you void, i.e. If you spend an hour and a half every day perfectly practicing a particular skill you'll be a pro in what will seem like no time at all!

Apparently a habit takes 21 days to form, and if you've tried to see if this is true you know that it's so hard even to get to day 5! 21 days is a HELL of a long time but you have to keep at it, if of course forming the habit means so much to you.

Experts say that it takes 10000 hours to develop an expert level of skill... That is A LOT of time!! I did some Maths to see how long this would take if you worked at your skill for 8 solid hours every single day of a 365 day year... It worked out to about 3 and a half years! Yeah, so much for 21 days hey...

We sometimes look at people that call themselves experts and wonder how they got there and according to my very little research it actually just boils down to diligently putting in the time! It's your choice. No one's promising an easy road but you'll thank yourself 10000 hours later when you can proudly call yourself expert in your field simply because you had the will to invest in yourself.

Here's to putting in the time!

Work 6 days a week...

I don't know about you, but I trust EVERYTHING that comes from the Bible, especially those things that are said to be ordained, or made holy by God Himself. God made a 7 day week, He worked for 6 days and rested on the seventh. Now this isn't  a platform to argue which day should you be resting and which days you should be working but just me pointing out that like almost everything else... This phenomenon too has stood the test of time. 

People who work the required amount of days and rest completely once a week are the most productive(my personal opinion and an open to discussion on this point). The idea is that our bodies have been beautifully created this way and you know what, when put under subjection, it obeys and you're able to complete a lot more tasks than you thought it "humanly" possible to complete.

So amongst the other things I'm giving a try I'm giving this working 6 days phenomenon idea, I bet it'll all be worth it! 

I've always been an ambassador for working smart and not hard and over time I've established that it makes better sense to work hard at first so that it's possible and sensible to work smart afterwards... So for 2 days now I've worked... And I'd like to believe that I've worked super hard and for the next let's day 2 years or so I'll be doing this so that when the seeds have been down and the manual labour has been completed, I can sit back and watch the fruits of the labour I put sprout. 

Here's to working 6 days a week (•_•)

Wake up an hour earlier...

My mother wakes up at 3am on most mornings, she reads the Bible, prays and has what we call "Quiet time, in her secret place with God". The Bible isn't specific on what time Jesus woke up, but it does say that he woke up well before dawn. Now this isn't a call to do what Jesus did, or what my mother does but rather a call to consider what the benefits of this exercise are and then through a calculated and well thought of decision consider if it's a good idea. 

Basically the basic theory isn't to wake up at 2am and 3am in the morning but rather, just 1 hour earlier than usual, so if you're normally up at 05:30 like me then you must set your clock for 04:30 and actually get up when the alarm goes off, apparently the struggle only goes on for 30 days after which the task becomes one of your daily habits. 

What does this help, with you may ask. Well, it's fairly simple, if you wake up an hour earlier:

1. You have just managed to add an hour  to your previously busy and crowded day.

2. It helps you have a bit of a head start.

3. It's quieter at this time of the day so you are able to do the things that you wouldn't usually be able to do on a regular morning. For me such things include praying, meditating, reflecting, planning for the day ahead... 

I could think of a lot more things that this practice can benefit you with but it's a bit late and I have to sleep now... At this point I don't have much to lose except my pride and dignity, so I guess I'll give this a try and see how it goes. I'll keep you all updated on how it goes and the challenges that go with waking up this much earlier.

Here's to trying this morning thing!

Clear your name...

This morning I've wondering what the biggest lesson I've learned from my horrible experience at work this passed week is, and it's boiled down to this: 

When life throws you lemons, you have to make something out of them unless you're happy with the "sourness" of lousy lemons, be creative! Lemons aren't only good for lemonade! 

This passed week, my biggest challenge was waking up, putting on a big smile and not allowing anyone around me to see how bothered I was by the situation! That really helped me, made me stronger of course but also made me realise, and live the notion that not everyone has to know about your sufferings. It was tough, the week took much longer than usual but I made it out, I tried my best and made it through the week. 

Another week begins today and the challenge is to move forward confidently with my head held high. No one says I should forget what happened last week, and quite frankly I would be a fool if I'd forget (only fools disregard life lessons of the past), but the most important thing is to move forward fearlessly and do what needs to be done to come out spotlessly clean on the other side.

Funny how the road from here on out is going to be one of the hardest, but if I follow the plan through, the destination will be called success!! 

Some of the things I've planned to do is:

1. Wake up an hour earlier every morning

2. Work 6 days a week

3. Put in the time

4. Try methods of working I've never tried before

5. Work faster & more accurate

6. Go to the gym, conquer there too

7. Be excellent

8. Pray, like I've never prayed before

When time has gone by, a year from now, I want to look back on this list and share these 8 things as a fool proof way to get ahead, clear your name and be a HUGE success even when people thought you wouldn't be able to!! I'll expound more on each point as the week goes by, ultimately the key is, "never, ever ever give up!"- Winston Churchill.

It'll all be worth it at the end, so, it's not over till the fat lady sings... And she sure as hell isn't singing because I can't hear any fat lady singing!

Here's to coming out skweeky clean!!!