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Food for Living: Transform Your Mind
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friend,
Our mind is one of the most powerful forces we have, but sometimes, we don’t seem to pay adequate attention to it. Our mind is as powerful as our health. Lao Tzu was right when he said, “watch your thought, they become your words, watch your words, they become your action, watch your actions, they become your character, and watch your character, they become your destiny”. The success and failure of anything starts with the mind. Our mind is so powerful that it can literally see possibility in impossibility.
It is instructive to note that we are what we consume. If you take fatty goods, you can’t expect to be slim unless your gene makes you to be slim. You can’t spend more time watching television, attending social events like parties and generally expect to gain more knowledge, insight, and wisdom like someone who invests a substantial amount of time reading.
Before you can transform your mind, you must be intentional and deliberate. Being intentional and deliberate entails knowing what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. Transformation doesn’t occur overnight, it takes time and it’s definitely a process. For instance, for a marriage to work, the two parties must commit to making it work, marriage won’t just work because they are good people, no, they must put in the work, and in most cases, it takes time.
As enterprising human beings, we all have that one bad habit we wish to stop. You may be a procrastinator; you may be a smoker; you may be extravagant with money, have a flair for material things, or even be a womanizer, and you want to have a change of lifestyle; the first step is to begin to work on your mind. You need to change your thought, your perspectives to what you hear, what you pay attention to, what your watch, who you follow and most importantly, you need to be honest with the change you want to see in your life. According to Mahatma Gandhi, “you must be the change you want to see in the world”.
To bring change to your life, you have think out of the box. For instance, while you may think money will solve all the problem in your life, wisdom will make you understand that you may have money and still be unhappy. This is because money alone, doesn’t guarantee fulfillment in life, neither does it gives joy and peace of mind. You can have a royal friend, but it is better to have a loyal friend who will be with you in moments of difficulty; you might desire to have a gorgeous wife, but then a loving and respectful wife is priceless; a healthy life is much better and desirable to a wealthy life.
In transforming your mind, you have to ask yourself what you want. Many people lose opportunities due to poverty mentality. There was a story of young applicants who applied to a reputable company for a job. On the day of the interview, the chief executive officer of the company asks them a stunning question after the interview. Would you like to take a selfie with me and not get the job or would you want to get the job and don’t have any opportunity of taking a picture with me?
The applicants were confused about what to say because the man in question was a highly celebrated man in society because of his exploits and the success he has attained in society. The candidates who weren’t passionate about the job decided to take the picture at the risk of not getting a callback, while those who felt they value the company and value the opportunity more than a picture with the C.E.O took the risk of not taking the picture. What’s the issue here? The issue is what do they want? What matters to them? What are their values? And most importantly, what transformation do they want to see in their life?
How can you transform your mind?
Recognize negative thoughts
We all have that negative thoughts that come to us as human beings. Each time a negative thought enters your mind, take a deep breath and ask yourself, does this thought help me in any way? Does it make me happy, or does it steal my peace? If no, try and kill it before it germinates.
Reject negative thoughts.
Once you are aware of negative thoughts in your mind, combat them immediately by focusing on something positive. You can use words
Replace negative thoughts
As human beings, it is always normal to feel down when we experience a setback or disappointment, but as a positive mind, it’s imperative to see what we can learn from each experience. For instance, if someone hurts our feelings, we can forgive and refuse to let it fester in our thoughts and steal our confidence. If someone insults us, we can focus on our positive attributes and remember that what God’s Word says about us is the most important.
I will conclude by asking; what change do you want in your life or would like to see in your life, and what effort are you making to transform your mind to see that change?
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a mindset coach and public speaker. 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
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There’s no doubt that human beings by nature are insatiable. When we get one opportunity, we always look for another. When we attain one height, we always look for another accomplishment. Isn’t it true that the end of one mountain is the beginning of another.
However, I don’t think it’s selfish for anyone to dare to succeed.
Being ambitious doesn’t make one an opportunist or disloyal. It all depends on one’s perception or outlook to life. It’s just natural for one to dream big. It’s only ugly when the process one chooses to achieve his desires becomes dirty and nasty.
According to a former Nigerian presidential candidate and seasoned Economist, Mr. Peter Obi, “if you must be referred to as “Your Excellency”, then the process through which you arrived in office must be excellent”.
If you desire to be reckoned with on the journey of existence, you must be legitimately hungry for success. One’s hunger for success will facilitate the drive to accomplish great tasks despite daunting obstacles posing as challenges.
When one has this mindset, one will not be bothered by the noise which serves as obstacles and challenges along the way. Negative and weak minds are always concerned on why something won’t work. They tend to focus their energy and reasons on the obstacles facing them. But great and productive minds always focus their energy on the reasons why it will work. This is the spirit of an insatiable mind who is a goal- getter.
It’s instructive to note that we can’t please everyone. According to Bill Cosby, a famous actor, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.” Isn’t it true that when you talk, people will still talk about you, when you don’t talk, people will talk about you, so whether you talk or not, people will still judge you, so, do what’s best for you. There’s nothing you can do to please human beings. Your best option is to live your best life.
To understand how the insatiable nature of man works, one must be oneself. You don’t have to “please” anyone. Be yourself, and don’t try to be like anyone just to curry favour. It’s important to note that when you are yourself, the people that matter will come through for you, and the people that don’t matter will gradually find the bearing in another space because those that truly care don’t bother and those that bother don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Life has truly taught me to focus on the important things of life as opposed to the mundane things. It’s truly sad to see people spending more time on the little things of life, and spending little time on the important things of life. That’s just a misplaced priority.
When you are yourself, the best people can do is to copy or imitate your style. They can never imitate your creativity nor can take your originality from you.
We live in a world or society where people don’t generally care or show empathy. Most people tend to live around themselves, their family, and close associates. They generally find it hard to lift a finger to assist others for reasons best known to them. Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka once said, “we live in a wicked generation”, re-echoing the voices of a lot of people of the world. Some people in authority just have criminal expertise in amassing wealth of opportunities meant for the citizens without thinking of the citizens they are meant to serve.
It’s worthy of note that not everyone will like you nor support your work, but when you find people who truly care about you; please hold them tight. This is because despite having family members you have shown love and compassion, they might not still appreciate you even if you lay your life for them, they will still find something to say. Again, this is the insatiable nature of man.
It’s okay for everyone not to like you, normalize living your life for God, yourself, family and those that care about you. If everyone likes you, you have a problem.
Did you know that you can get a new family from friends, strangers, and acquaintances? These sets of people might appreciate you more than your own family members. They might not demand or under appreciate you like your family members and close friends or associates. Any little support you give them will be highly appreciated. Their focus is to see you do better.
In conclusion, as you desire to succeed in life, never give in to failure until you have made your last attempt, and never make your last attempt until you succeed. This literally means whatever you desire, dream it, think it, say it, and believe you can achieve it. This principle is generally applicable to relationships, businesses, family, personal and professional development.
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
A federal judge in the United States, on Thursday, put a temporary block on President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.
The ruling imposes a 14-day halt on the enforcement of one of the most controversial executive orders Trump signed hours after being sworn into office for a second term.
It comes after lawsuits were filed by a total of 22 states, two cities and numerous civil rights groups.
“This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” senior US District Judge John Coughenour was reported as saying during the hearing in Washington State.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades, I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is,” said Coughenour, who was appointed to the bench by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan.
Birthright citizenship is fundamental to America’s national identity, with the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution decreeing that anyone born on US soil is a citizen.
It says, in part: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump’s order was premised on the idea that anyone in the US illegally, or on a visa, was not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country, and therefore excluded from this category.
AFP
The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital has upheld the death sentence of Ramon Adedoyin, a prominent businessman and hotelier, for his involvement in the murder of one Timothy Adegoke, a former postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Delivering the judgment on Thursday, the court affirmed the earlier verdict of the Osun State High Court, which had sentenced Adedoyin to death.
“The judgment of the High Court of Osun State stands. Adedoyin’s appeal is dismissed in part,” the court declared in part.
The Court of Appeal, however, set aside some aspects of the lower court’s orders, including the forfeiture of the Hilton Hotel and the order for Adedoyin to pay for the education of Adegoke’s children.
Furthermore, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to impose penalties outside the statutory provisions
Adegoke’s death was reported in November 2021 after his corpse was found at the Hilton Honours Hotel in Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he had lodged.
The hotelier had travelled from Abuja for an examination at a distance learning centre in Moro, Osun State on November 5 of that year.
He had checked into the hotel but was reported missing after two days. However, Adegoke’s body was found days later, leading to a probe that linked his death to Adedoyin and others.
In May 2023, Adedoyin and others were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder.
But dissatisfied with the judgement, Adedoyin approached the Appeal court to dismiss the sentence and conviction.
The court of appeal, on Thursday, however, upheld the conviction and death sentence of the hotelier.
