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Food for Living: Change Your Mindset
By Henry Ukazu
Greeting Destiny Friends,
According to Buddha, “Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” This is a very deep saying. Everyday we rise from the bed, we are given opportunities to succeed by creating new vision and products, but what we do with our time is what literally makes the difference. It’s very easy to blame others for our misfortunes, but the truth is if we look inward, no one can insult you without your consent.
One of the greatest powers we have as human beings is our choice. Just like we all have different taste buds, we also have different preferences in life. The difference between a great mind and a shallow mind is how they reason and understand life. Both of them have different visions and understandings. While one is thinking of leaving the comfort zone by taking a rational risk, the other is thinking of maintaining the status quo.
If we take the discussion a little bit further, the human mind is the second most powerful force or power. This is because if the world is telling you, you can succeed on a task, and you know, you can’t accomplish the task, you’ll definitely fail, but if the world is telling you, you’ll fail on the task and you are determined to succeed, you’ll definitely succeed because he that is in you is greater and stronger than he that is in the world.
In medicine, we were taught about different parts of the brains, for the case of this article, we shall limit our to four parts namely” the frontal lobe which performs cognitive functions. It controls our voluntary movement or activity. The parietal lobe processes information about temperature, taste, touch, and movement, while the occipital lobe is primarily responsible for vision. The temporal lobe is largely responsible for creating and preserving both conscious and long-term memory
Each of the lobes is controlled by the mind. Your success and failure in life can be attributed to many factors such as your thinking faculty, network, exposure, knowledge, and God factor amongst other factors. Amongst all this, the mind stands out because regardless of how other attributes work if our mind is not in alignment with our faith, knowledge, and network, we’ll fail.
The human mind is capable of achieving anything is desires if it plays by the rules. This is because our success and failure start in our minds. It’s quite unfortunate many of us have limited the power of the mind. If you believe you can achieve a particular task, you’ll achieve it, setbacks will only act as energizer to you.
To appreciate the how the mindset work, imagine wearing a pig a gold or jewel, the pig won’t appreciate it, rather it will make a mess of it, but give that jewel or gold to a rational mind who knows the value, you’ll see how the person will treasure it. That’s simply how mindset work.
The question we have to ask ourselves is how can we change our mindset? Changing our mindset is not hard, rather what is hard is remaining focused. You can change your mindset every now and then, but are you ready to commit to the new target? Every year, we make a new resolution to live a better life, stop procrastination, kick out negative habits and live a disciplined life, but within a couple of weeks and months, we see ourselves going back to the old habits.
The difference between a poor man and a wealthy mind is their mindset. A great man doesn’t limit his thoughts and vision towards life, but a poor man has no problem beclouding his mentality with lots of negative reasons or factors why a task can’t be done. Let’s share some examples of how we can change our mindset.
Learn to meditate
When you meditate, you develop your mind to opportunities. You see what other people can’t see. Very few people know how to meditate. There’s uncommon power in meditation. When you medicate right, your mind opens up many opportunities.
Focus on your long-term vision.
Always have the end in sight. It is the vision you have about life, that will inspire you to forge ahead when you face challenges.
Keep Your Circle Close:
Your network is your net worth, don’t associate with low minds who don’t have the vision of an eagle, rather associate with people who are smarter than you. Find people who reflect the values you want to adopt. As your own mind starts to change, it’ll become easier to connect with more positive people.
Challenge your thoughts.
You cannot change your mindset without changing your thoughts. Whenever you are faced with negative thoughts, always look for positive thoughts to counter it. Thoughts have power, if they are not uprooted, they have the tendency to grow and germinate and bear fruits which can kill your vision. Kick our negative thoughts from your mind. Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start thinking about what could go right!
Affirm and Visualize:
Tap into the power of affirmations by daily affirming positive words into your life. I can’t overemphasize the power of affirmations. You can do it every day by speaking into your life when you wake up every morning. Whenever you wake up or each time you experience a challenge, affirm and visualize by saying, it too shall pass, it’s a matter of time. Creating a strong mental picture of where you want to be, reinforces the message in your brain. Nike has a logo that says “Just do it”. To them, all you need is the belief factor, don’t look at the reasons why it can’t be done, rather focus your mind on why it can be done. In order to affirm and visualize, dream it, think it, speak it, affirm it, and act it. When you affirm, you visualize yourself in the dreamland. You can a take tour, travel, or even chat with your idol just to have an experience of what it feels like being in the desired place or position.
In conclusion, it should be noted, you can’t give what you don’t have, neither can you achieve what you didn’t visualize. True success is by luck neither is it accidental, rather it’s a deliberate and intentional effort to succeed.
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 and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that the North will, in the next six months, take a stand on who to support for the presidency in 2027.
He boasted that no politician can win the presidency in 2027 without the support of the region.
In a video interview he granted in Hausa language, Baba-Ahmed, who appeared alongside a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf, lamented the state of the nation and urged northerners to resist divisive and deceptive politicians ahead of the next general elections.
He said: “In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands. If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way. One thing is clear: nobody can become president of Nigeria without northern support.
“We want a government that understands our problems and can address them. After Buhari’s eight years, we became wiser. Now, we are in another government, and we are still crying. Is crying all we know how to do?” Baba-Ahmed asked.
According to the former presidential aide, the North has suffered greatly during the Boko Haram insurgency, which affected all groups, Muslims, Christians, Fulani, Baju, and others, highlighting the need for unity.
“Before Buhari became president, Boko Haram was bombing mosques, churches, Abuja, and Lagos. That was a time Northerners had to unite. Today, no politician can just show up and expect Northerners to fall in line. Who are you?” he questioned.
He therefore warned against further marginalization of the North, noting that continued disregard for the region would have consequences.
“If they plan to rig the election, they should be careful. It won’t be good for Nigeria. The North is watching, elders, masses, and interest groups will soon say “enough is enough ‘. The injustice and sidelining must stop.
Baba-Ahmed urged the northern region to look beyond identity politics, stressing that competence and integrity should guide voter decisions.
“We are tired of being deceived into voting based on religion or ethnicity. That era is over. We just want a right leader, we just want someone who will solve our problems,” he said.
Telecommunications giant, Globacom, has charged Christians to embrace the virtues that Christ preached as the 2025 Easter celebrations hold this weekend.
While congratulating Christians in Nigeria in a goodwill message released from its Lagos Head Office on Thursday, Globacom admonished them to imbibe the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
According to Glo, “Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”
Globacom charged all Nigerians to espouse the lessons of selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society and called on all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
The company praised their perseverance through the 40-day Lenten period which comes before Easter as it emphasized the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
Easter comes yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of unhindered voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
Dear Destiny Friends,
Every human being loves to get approval, either for the great work they have done or the ones they are doing. They love to be appreciated and admired. They also love to be given attention when they have something valuable to say or do. In all of these, one thing is certain, there is something special about us, and this special thing makes one unique, and ultimately attracts people to us.
Let’s face it, nobody will admire you, appreciate you, approve you and give you attention if you don’t have anything to offer. The reason most people associate with someone is because they feel or know there’s something they can gain from the person. It’s hard for someone to relate closely with someone who they don’t see potential value in.
There is no doubt each and everyone of us is unique, yes, there’s something unique about you. You can sing, you can write, you can dance, you can lead, you can serve, you can cook, etc. One can even be a good actor, athlete, comedian, or preacher. The list is literally endless. Now, what’s unique about you?
When you discover what’s unique about you, please do all within your reach to nurture and develop it. One day, the right person, who truly appreciates and knows your value will celebrate you.
I have a friend who is exceptionally skilled in writing and developing creative contents. I call him a genius because he can literally write a book within a week. How he does it is what I don’t understand. I was surprised when he once told me he wrote a book and manuscript in one week. According to him, he has been developing the contents mentally, but hasn’t found time to put his thoughts together, and when he finally gets his thoughts together, he was able to write the book and manuscript. This is a typical way of knowing a unique being.
Many, however, do not know what’s unique about them. We focus our energy chasing what is not chasing us instead of focusing on developing what we already have. It’s sad to see young and old people living their lives in an unintentional manner with a belief that somehow lines, favour or opportunities will fall in place for them.
Sometimes, we rely on other people’s affirmation and opinion, and accept it as our fate. For instance, just because one is tall, he might be told he will be a great fit for basketball without considering if the athlete loves basketball; again, just because someone is very intelligent, his parents will encourage him to major in a particular discipline, which is perceived as lucrative without considering if the person likes it pr not.
I once experienced this fate when my late dad inspired me to study taxation law in New York Law School, a major I detest with passion. It was like a suicidal mission for me because I do know, it will take miracle to graduate from the program. How I was able to get a scholarship for my grades and graduate in record time is a story for another day. I’m not wired as a finance person, I will better serve humanity in the social and developmental space where my skills, talents, gift and passion will be better utilized. And ever since I joined the space, I have seen results.
There are many cases where many people lose their identities without knowing they are unique. We are all unique in our individual ways. Just like there are several gifts and talents, we have different skills. When you know what’s unique about you, you will stand out and the world will not only appreciate you, but will celebrate you.
When one discovers the power of their uniqueness, we will gather strength to unleash it to the world. Uniqueness works in several ways. For instance, the mere fact that ten people are genius, talented, skillful or valuable in a particular work, the person with the unique gift is the person who will not only stand out, but will be called upon to do the work.
Let me share more insight. If ten people sing a particular song with a great voice, the person who is called to be a singer will receive a unique appreciation because he/she is working on purpose. That is why it is easy to see a lot of people venturing into a particular form of business, but the favour of the business will not locate them because they are not uniquely destined to do business.
Few years ago, one of my mentors shared a deep insight with me. He said that, as a trained medical doctor, he once observed that despite the fact there are hundreds and thousands of medical doctors practicing their profession. One fateful day, he noticed a particular patient was not responding to treatment despite all the medication that had been given to him by a nurse, his health was deteriorating, then another nurse came and administered the same pill a nurse gave the patient, and the patient began to feel better. What does that tell you? The second nurse was probably working in her purpose which aligns with her profession, and as such the corresponding success. This goes to show that when one is unique, it has a way of robbing off on their work.
Furthermore, he stated that Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and Beyonce are some of the gifted singers and dancers the world has ever celebrated. He went on to say that we have hundreds and thousands of musicians, but only a few have got the spotlight.
What does that tell you? When you are unique, the world will celebrate you. I have understood that the fastest way to get recognition in life is to work in areas where one’s strength and unique gift will better serve the purpose. This is simply because the world does not celebrate one’s weakness, rather, the world celebrates one’s strength.
In recent times, I have seen myself as a counselor and human inspiration. My counseling skills have enabled me to influence people to live positive lives. Overtime, I have realized that when people share their burden with me, they feel relieved after speaking with me. What amazes me most is the fact that even my elders feel comfortable to relate with me on a cordial basis. Maybe, I have a unique gift for counseling and educating.
Today, I am going to charge you to focus your energy and time on whatever will bring you the highest satisfaction. Even if you are looking for a job, applying for school, or seeking any opportunity, your focus should be centered on what you have that the job, school or opportunity will amplify. When you do so, you will be in high demand.
In conclusion, please affirm to yourself today, I am a unique being with a unique personality, purpose and gift.
Say to yourself, ‘I am original’, and refuse to be fake.
Again confess that your originality, authenticity and uniqueness will attract favours, blessings, opportunities from leaders and queens to you, and you will be celebrated.
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 Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
