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Food for Living: Challenge Yourself
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Life is all about challenges, and every day we get one form of challenge or another. Whether you like it or not, you’ll surely get challenges. Challenges come from different shapes and sizes. The challenge can be personal or professional. The challenge can arise from either family, school, social, financial emotional, or even mental situations. In fact, dealing with challenges is a challenge on its own because it can be tasking. But I strongly believe every problem has a solution. What makes the difference is how you handle the challenge. Challenges can be likened to doors. In the same vein, problems are doors, they will never open unless you have the right set of key(s).
Let’s be honest, we all have at least one or two bad habits we’d like to ditch.
Every challenge that comes to you is a test to your mental and social capacity. Regardless of how the challenge comes, the ball is your court to address it, and how you address it will make the difference.
What really is challenging yourself and how do you challenge yourself?
Challenging yourself can mean different things to different people. The most insightful way of challenging yourself is to do better by not remaining in the same position. During the course of this article, we shall be discussing how we can challenge ourselves.
Leave Your Conform Zone
One of the best ways of challenging yourself is by leaving your your comfort zone. It’s always hard to bring change. Ideal change starts within. Leaving your comfort zone can mean taking worthy risk after exploring all options. If it works well for you, good, even it falls below expectation, you learn from the experience. In any case, there’s no harm in trying.
Improve Yourself
Success is not a destination, rather it is a journey. On a daily basis, one must strive to add value to his/her life. For example, you can decide to learn a new language, a new skill, a new trade, attend a seminar or even do an exercise on a daily basis, write a story, poem, a book, and network with people, travel. You can even decide to wake up early and do some work. These are great and resourceful ways of challenging yourself to do better. Be advised, if something doesn’t challenge you, then it doesn’t change you. You can even kick out bad habits by resisting the temptation of watching unproductive movies by going to bed early and meditating instead of watching
Overcome Your Fears
Living in fear is one of the most deadly and sad ways to live. A lot of people die before their death. This set of individuals are always apprehensive and scared of what might happen to them if their expectations are not met. No doubt we all experience fears in one way or the other, but living in fears can be likened to accepting defeat. A great way of overcoming your fears is by facing your fears. Are you afraid of failing, driving, and speaking up, marrying? If any of the answers is no, then you still have some hurdles to cross on your path to self-discovery.
Attend one career-related seminar a month
You can challenge yourself by taking a class on a career-related job. Every employer loves an employee who takes time to improve himself/herself on the job. Don’t settle for your current job position. Aim high in your career. Book conferences that are relevant to the industry of your profession. There, absorb the lesson.
Spend Less
As human beings, we are always in the habit of spending to get our wants and needs. However, a prudent way of spending is by spending on your needs and not wants. You can do this by prioritizing. Make a realistic budget and find out how you can cut back on something so you can invest more. Challenge yourself to step out of your current budget and develop a better budget for yourself. Money management is not about what you make – it’s what you do with what you make. Setting a savings goal can definitely be a challenge, and an especially uncomfortable one if it means cutting your spending to reach your goal. But in the long run, you’ll be so glad you challenged yourself in this way.
Exercise Daily
You don’t need to go to the gym to exercise. You can exercise at the comfort of your home. A simple 9-minute run around your neighborhood or an intense dance routine done in your living-room can do wonders for yourself. Aside from the obvious reason that exercise can help you maintain your regular weight or shed those unnecessary pounds, it can also aid in making you feel better about yourself by releasing endorphins. Exercise also helps you to focus well when you meditate rightly.
Start Small
A good way of challenging yourself is by starting small. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the right single step in the right journey. That said, the best way is to start with small steps and put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. For example, if you plan to read a book every month, you can start by reading a page daily and them grow from there. In the same way, if you plan to write a book or do any productive task, you can challenge yourself by starting small nor matter how little it is.
In conclusion, challenging yourself entails, doing better than you were yesterday, last month, a year or even a decade. However, the best form of challenge is challenging yourself as opposed to competing with another person. You can do healthy completion, but don’t try to imitate another person. Run Your race!
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.comnry Ukazu
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate for 2027 general elections, Peter Obi, says that Nigerians across all walks of life are suffering under President Bola Tinubu’s administration due to worsening hunger, widespread insecurity, and systemic harassment.
Speaking with journalists at St Fintan’s Catholic Church in Onicha Local Government Area, Ebonyi State, on Friday, Obi urged citizens to stand firm and resist further hardship imposed by the country’s current leadership.
Obi was in Ebonyi State to attend the burial ceremony of Okaji Okorie, father of the NDC senatorial candidate for the Ebonyi South Zone, Linus Okorie. Responding to questions regarding the alleged harassment of NDC supporters by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Obi said that the current hardship transcends political affiliations.
“For me, every Nigerian is already being harassed, not just my supporters,” Obi said. “Hunger is harassing everybody. The worsening economic situation is affecting everyone. Go to any village, and you will see that people are suffering. It is time for Nigerians to tell those governing us that enough is enough.”
Addressing concerns over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) ability to conduct free and fair elections in 2027, Obi urged citizens to focus on collective action rather than institutional trust.
“It is not really about confidence in INEC; it is about having confidence in the people. The people will determine what INEC does. If Nigerians insist that their votes must count, then their votes will count,” he asserted.
“The people should look at what is happening in Nigeria and ask themselves: What is the future of our children in this enterprise called Nigeria? Are we going to continue in this direction?”
Obi noted that advocating for real change in the current political climate requires tremendous courage.
“Anyone talking about change in Nigeria today is making the ultimate sacrifice because we cannot continue like this. Every single day, poverty is increasing; every single day, hunger is increasing,” he noted.
“The World Bank recently reported that poverty has risen to almost 79 per cent from about 51 per cent when this government came into office. But you do not even need a World Bank report to know what is happening. Go to the villages and see for yourself.”
“Millions more Nigerians are facing hunger. So, what are we going to do about it? Are we going to continue like this? No.”
Turning to his host, Obi described Okorie as a steadfast ally and dependable partner, highlighting their shared political journey across party lines.
“This is not the first time Hon. Linus Okorie and I are working together. We worked together in the Labour Party, and now we are together in the NDC. That underscores the strength of our relationship,” Obi said.
“However, we are here today to pay our last respects to his late father. We pray that God Almighty, who blessed Papa with a long and fruitful life, will grant him eternal rest in His kingdom and give the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.”
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
The beginning of any journey is usually the hardest part. It is usually hard to take the bold step. Whether you are applying for a job, writing a book, starting a new business, getting married or even applying for school, there’s always the tendency to ask yourself mind-boggling questions such as; Will I succeed? Will I be accepted? This is among many others.
When progressive minds encounter this challenge, they are not afraid of taking the first step, they are merely concerned about the big picture, and not what they are currently experiencing. One of the big differences between great people and lesser minds is the ability for great people to take strategic risks, while lesser minds stay in their comfort zone.
On a personal note, I can relate to the journey of greatness when I began writing my first book. In all sincerity, I didn’t know what I was writing. All I knew was that I was putting down whatever comes to my mind provided I found it reasonable and relatable. At the end of the day, I found a proficient and efficient editor who was kind enough to work on the book and it became a trailblazer.
The moral is that I doubted myself many times if I had the capacity to write a book. I was literally afraid of beginning, but immediately I began writing, the universe began to conspire with me to make the work fruitful. Today, when I look back, I’m glad I took the bold step. I say this because just because of one book, I received national and global attention in addition to appearing on television and meeting gatekeepers and resource people.
The same principle is applicable when I began my first business. I didn’t know what to focus on and how to develop bossiness. All I knew was that I’m a motivator and counselor who likes to help youths and career professionals on proactive ways to succeed in their personal and professional lives. After attending a series of training courses, workshops, webinars, and several conferences, I began to have clarity about my business. I remember when I first started, I told the world that I can build a website just because my uncle assisted in using a free tool to build my website.
Why am I sharing this information? The same business I didn’t know how to structure is now registered with the highest certification from the Office of the Governor of New York to do business with any New York City agency. It now has a Chief Operating Officer, Social media manager, IT personnel and an exceptional Director of Partnership who works as a consultant. The company has also partnered with the United Nations Development Programme and has received awards.
All this is because I took the bold step to start a business. Sometimes in life, you don’t know what lies ahead when one takes the bold step.
According to Dr. Yomi Garnet, a proficient Ghost Writer, “If a book is tiled A synopsis of successful living were to be written, it would in all probability contain the following chapters:
1. Identify your talents, (use then to glory God and to benefit of humanity)
2. Have faith in the favor of God,
3. Engage in proper planning
4. 10% belongs to God
5. Give, give and keep in giving
Let’s take a minute to elaborate on this chapter:
1. Identify your talent: Before you begin any project, one must know who they are, what they have and what problems they want to solve. They also must take into consideration whether they have the capacity, competence and capability of doing the business. One thing is certain, they are using their skills, talent, and knowledge to solve a problem
2. Have faith in God:
Taking the first step entails having faith in yourself, in your business and most importantly in God. Without faith in oneself, in the business and in God, it will be difficult for one to succeed. Taking the first set entails believing in the possibility of the future.
3. Engaging in Proper planning:
It’s instructive to note that failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Before anyone begins any task, it’s important for one to sit back and ask oneself if they have all they need to set up the business. This entails setting up a structure for the business, getting the right people, offering services and setting up the mission and vision statement of the company
4. 10% belongs to God
This is Biblical instruction which is part of the spiritual blessings of doing business. No one succeeds on their own. They either have an altar working for them or they have human beings as networks, benefactors, and resource persons recommending them for opportunities. Alternatively, these acts of tithe giving can also refer to Corporate Social Responsibility which is tantamount to giving back to society.
5. Give, give and keep giving.
This is another spiritual blessing. We are quite familiar with the saying, the giver never lacks, however, it’s important to note that when one gives without wisdom and accountability, one might run dry. So, it’s imperatively important for one to give with discretion, otherwise, one will be exhausted. It’s instructive to note that nobody receives with a clenched fist and the giver’s hand is always on top. If you want to receive it, please give. This giving aspect is made possible because someone took the first step to start a business which made it possible for the art of giving to take place.
In conclusion, if you desire to start a business, or have inspiration, just start, the universe has a way of conspiring with the world to support you to birth your passion, idea or vision. I say this because the worst you’ll want to do towards the end of life is to live in regret. So, I say, just begin. Whether you fail, it’s irrelevant because you are gaining and showing perseverance for the cause you believe in. At the end of theer day, we shall all tell our stories.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design, Unleash Your Destiny and The Six Pillars of Succes . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The Supreme Court has prohibited lawyers, court registrars, litigation staff and all legal practitioners dealing with the apex court from using the title “Barrister” as a prefix to their names in official correspondence and court-related engagements.
The directive was conveyed in an internal circular dated July 13, 2026, issued by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Kabir E. Akanbi, on the instruction of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
The circular, titled “Prohibition of the Use of the Title ‘Barrister’ as a Prefix to Names,” was addressed to legal practitioners, litigation staff, court registrars and other lawyers interacting with the apex court.
According to the memo, the continued use of the title “Barrister” before names is inconsistent with the professional standards expected in official dealings with the Supreme Court.
It stated that the Chief Justice had directed that the practice be discontinued with immediate effect.
Part of the circular reads: “The use of the title ‘Barrister’ as a prefix to names is inappropriate and inconsistent with the standards of professionalism expected within the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”
The court further directed that the title should no longer appear in official correspondence, court processes, legal documents, identity materials or any other official communication with the Supreme Court.
Heads of departments and unit heads were also instructed to ensure strict compliance by officers under their supervision.
However, the directive is limited to official interactions with the Supreme Court and does not prevent legal practitioners from identifying themselves as barristers in academic, professional or other non-court-related settings.
