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Food for Living: Don’t Rush Life
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
As insatiable beings, we have the tendency to rush at almost everything; food, queue, success and more. What we fail to understand however, is that rushing adds stress and anxiety to life, and this can affect one’s mental state, overtime. Against this backdrop, note that there’s a thin line of difference between destiny and fate. While destiny refers to events that will necessarily happen to a person or thing in the future or the development of events beyond a person’s control which can have an element of supernatural power, fate is a predetermined course of events or series of events/ activities that may occur if one fails to do the things appropriate.
In the journey of life, most times we are consumed about how fast the world is leaving us behind, and as such we tend to think we have to fast track our life, but the truth is there’s a difference between motion and movement. You can be in motion, but not moving. Alternatively, we can say, direction is better than speed.
As human beings, it is normal for us to feel pressured to get our needs and wants. Which vary of course. For example, you might be concerned about making money, starting a business, finding the right partner, having a child or driving to meet an appointment. The truth is everything takes time and regardless of how fast you go, you can’t rush life. An African says, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go with a team.
Rushing seems to have become our DNA, we are always in a haste to publish an article or even write a book. We rush to become an adult before learning to become a kid. We rush to have a relationship before learning about our partner. We rush to build a billion-dollar business before we start working on our startup. We rush to have sex before we learn what sex is all about. The list is literally endless.
It’s normal to feel the urge to impress yourself, your family, friends and shame your detractors, but the experience of life has humbled us to know that patience is a virtue we all need to crave for. When you rush life, you lose out of some of the beautiful things life has to offer. Succeeding in any field of life entails maturity and learning the ropes. You can’t wake up in the morning and decide to be the President of a country, professor, pilot or even a millionaire. Everything takes time. Even the Book of life states “There’s time for everything”.
In life, there are few things you can’t rush, and one of such is friendship. You can’t force someone to like you; you can only influence their thoughts about you. If you make the mistake of using money or material things to make someone to like you, you’re bound to regret later in life, especially when the resources are no longer available. True friendship takes time to grow.
As a job seeker, there’s a job waiting for you, as an entrepreneur or businessman, there’s an opportunity destined for you. What most people fail to understand is that, If you get what you’re not supposed to get , it might hinder your progress . Let’s take a case study of a man/woman who is not yet mature to marry and marries, when the trials of marriage comes, the challenges might lead the couples to divorce. Moral: Our life is a process. Our skill is a process. Our relationship is a process. Our craft is a process. Our business is a process. Our art is a process.
As you may know, slow and steady wins the race, it is normal to get intimidated while looking at the accomplishments of others, but the reality is that we are all different and blessed with different skills, talents and gifts. We are all unique beings.
Sometimes delay can be a blessing to you, you might be driving to meet a scheduled appointment, and along the way you encounter a terrific traffic, ordinarily you might be mad, but if you able to think out of the box, you might realize that if you arrive early, you might meet unfortunate incident you never planned for. The problem might differ, but the point remains that the traffic might prevent you from a bad situation.
The interesting thing about not rushing through life is that sometimes, we learn such valuable lessons along the way. Sometimes, we learn more about ourselves and discover that we want something different. When you stop rushing and slow down, you enjoy life more. Morla: Rushing allows you to live on the surface rather than going deep.
Steps to live a Productive Life is a Process
Life is a process.
Just like a newborn baby takes time to crawl, talk and walk, we must have the mindset of patience by working for the best and expecting the worst. According to Ralph Ransom once “life is a series of steps. Things are done gradually. Once in a while, there is a giant step, but most of the time we are taking a small, seemingly insignificant step on the stairway of life.” Sometimes we think there is a timeline attached to our life which contains. In reality, there is no timeline.
Learn to live in the present
You have to be intentional in whatever you do in life. For example, rather than thinking so much about the future or the past, appreciate the present, when you eat, fully appreciate your food; when you’re with someone, be with them fully. When you’re walking, appreciate your surroundings, no matter where you are.
Mastery:
Mastery is very critical in our developmental process. Self mastery is priceless. It helps to shape and define you for greater opportunities. Take a mango tree, for example. Initially, when planted as a seed, it is small, and it takes years for it to sprout. But what happens when it hasn’t started growing? It’s collecting the right nutrients while undergoing photosynthesis to grow. And when the result begins to show. you get a solid tree plant. And what happens when its roots grow solid in the ground? It produces fruits, and so it remains forever till it dies out. It’s a slow process, but it’s rewarding.
When you master your craft, you develop some level of expertise in the subject matter. For example, Steve Jobs died as an unfinished project both in his work and life. Micheal Jackson, one of the greatest musicians of all time, died as an unfinished project both in his work and life.
In conclusion, destiny can be delayed, but it can’t be denied, just do your best and leave the rest for God. At the end when your times, no one can stop your blessings. Whatever has your name on it can pass to another person.
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
Armed policemen have taken over the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, as tension continues to mount over the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, which is expected to hold today.
Channels Television quoted an unnamed party official, who alleged that the police were deployed to stop the proposed NEC Expanded Caucus meeting.
Though some staff members of the party were initially allowed to go into the premises of the secretariat without any resistance from the police, they were later sent out.
Journalists were also been asked to leave the premises of the secretariat.
Some policemen were seen cordoning off Dalaba Street, which is the road leading to Wadata Plaza.
The Presidency has said there has been no change in the position of Senator George Akume as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“There has been no change in the status of His Excellency, Senator George Akume, as Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement made available to journalists.
The statement is titled ‘Akume Remains SGF.’
This followed multiple reports which quoted Presidency sources saying Tinubu had named his Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, to serve as the new SGF.
Onanuga said, “President Bola Tinubu, currently in Saint Lucia, has not made any new appointments.
“The information circulating about Akume’s replacement is untrue. Agents of mischief fabricated it.
“The Presidency advises Nigerians to disregard the fake news.”
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It is everybody’s desire to be successful in whatever field of endeavour he finds himself. It can be in career, family life, business endeavors or personal development. But there’s absolutely nothing good that comes easy. Everything in life involves a lot of hard work, smart work, dedication, discipline, network, sacrifice, prayers, and determination among a whole lot if one is intentional to succeed.
Of a truth, success is not for the faint-hearted. In all honesty, everyone wants to be ahead of everyone, especially contemporaries and funnily enough, the average human being sometimes have a bit of ill- feeling when competitors arise or seem to outsmart them either with better quality or price. The good thing about this however, is that it makes one sit up.
Now, this brings us to the essence of today’s article. For anyone to be ahead of their competitors, they must fly like the eagle. Eagles are known for their powerful build, sharp vision, and fearless nature. They are highflyers, capable of soaring to great heights, and gliding for extended periods. Eagles are also known for their tenacity, using storms to their advantage to gain altitude. Other notable characteristics include their strong talons and beaks, used for hunting, and their protective nature towards their young. These are some of the qualities that make it unique.
The eagle is not regarded as the king of the sky for fun, no. The eagle flies so high because that’s where it gets a chunk of its strength. This ability enables the eagle to take its prey and predators alike to it’s abode where it will have enough emotional and physical strength to dismantle them.
I will be sharing characteristics of an eagle to enable us know why we ought to be like the eagle if we want to soar.
VISION
The eagle has a sharp vision. Their vision is so precise. They can see farther than any animal. They possess exceptional eyesight, allowing them to spot prey from great distances. As human beings, we must have eagle eyes to know what we really want, and what we don’t want. Vision allows us to go for what we desire and deserve. When we have vision, we won’t wait for anyone to tell us when to strike. We flow through the wind despite the waves and heavy current and associated challenges. When our vision is precise, it will give people clarity to understand how they can assist us.
Let’s take a closer look at great leaders of this world who have come and gone. There are many great leaders that came and went but one characteristic that is common in all is “Vision”.
Vision is a successful leadership characteristic
You must have a vision that guides and leads your team towards the organizations or societal goals. The vision must be big and focused. A big, focused vision will produce big results
FLIGHT
Eagles are known for their ability to soar and glide, using their large wings to their advantage. Eagles can fly up to an altitude of 10,000 feet, but they are able to swiftly land on the ground. At 10, 000 feet, you will never find another bird. If you find another bird, it must be an eagle.
An eagle doesn’t mingle around with the pigeons. It was Dr. Myles Munroe who said that. Pigeons scavenge on the ground and grumble and complain all day long. Eagles are not. They fly and make less noise waiting for opportunities to strike their next prey or glide with the current of the storm.
Great leaders are problem solvers. They don’t complain like the pigeons do. They love to take challenges as the eagle does when the storm comes. As human beings, we all have our strengths and weaknesses.
It’s always good for one to take any fight to their home ground where it will give them advantage over their predators. For instance, a fish is stronger in water, but weak on land, a lion is stronger on land, but weak in water, a monkey is strong on trees but weak on air. Just like an eagle is strong on air and weak on water and land. That’s why it always takes its prey to the sky where they have greater advantage to shine.
As human beings, we also must know what we are naturally good at, the ability to know this will enable us to maximize our strength and work on our weakness. We can only do this when we know ourselves and what we are naturally good at. Our ability to focus on our expertise and what we are naturally good at will make us unique and ahead of our contemporaries.
TENACITY
The eagles are known for their ability to withstand storms and use them to their advantage, rising above the challenges. Watch an eagle when a storm comes. When other birds fly away from the storm with fear, an eagle spreads its mighty wings and uses the current to soar to greater heights. The eagle takes advantage of the very storm that lesser birds fear and head for cover.
Challenges in the life of a leader are many. These are the storms we must face as leaders to rise to greater heights. Like an eagle, a leader can only rise to greater heights if he takes up the challenges head on without running away from it. This is yet another leadership characteristic.
As humans, we all will experience challenges and setbacks, however, the ability to apply strength will go a long way to show how determined we are to overcome the hurdles that pose as challenges.
FEARLESS
An eagle will never surrender to the size or strength of its prey. It will always give a fight to win its prey or regain its territory.
Successful leaders are fearless, so we are expected to fear no man, but respect all men. They face problems head on. We are supposed to have the eagle fearless mindset regardless of how big the problem may appear. Confront your fear and rise or face your fear and run. The choice is yours.
VITALITY NATURE
One of the strongest characteristics of an eagle is their vitality. Eagles are full of life and are visionary, but they find time to look back at their life and re-energize themselves. This happens at about the age of 30. What happens is that when the eagles reach the age of 30, their physical body condition deteriorates fast making it difficult for them to survive.
What is interesting is that the eagle never gives up living, instead it retreats to a mountaintop and over a five-month period goes through a metamorphosis. As humans, we are expected to reexamine ourselves, retreat to a safe zone. We can do this by fasting as Christians, we can also do this by learning new skills, volunteering our time and seeking for mentors who can hold us by the hand to show us how the appearance of life is not the reality of life.
In conclusion, as human beings, we are encouraged to be like an eagle if we want to scale through life.
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 and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
