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Food for Living: You Are the Remote Control of Your Life
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
In less than two weeks, the year 2020 will fizzle out, paving the way for the grand entry of the year 2021. Without mincing words, the year 202O came with its share of mixed feelings; to some it was a blessing and to others, a total disaster.
One thing about life however, is its unpredictable nature; sometimes it offers opportunities, and at other times, it disappoints. Howbeit, no one can deny the fact that it gives you back what you give to her. Life is just like a computer; it is garbage in, garbage out.
As the year gradually comes to an end, it still remains a two way traffic where some are regretting and some are celebrating. At stocktaking time such as this, we need to ask ourselves how well we spent the last eleven months. Did you try to add value to your life in any form? Did you learn any new skill? Did you join any professional association or organization? Did you network with any resourceful mind? Were you able to graduate despite challenges? Did you begin any business, school or work? The list is literally endless. What most people fail to understand is that in life, there’s a seed time and harvest time. While most people are lamenting like Jeremiah in the book of life, others are rejoicing and harvesting. You can’t do nothing from January to November and expect a sudden miracle in December.
We are the architect as well as the masterpiece of our own lives. Nobody can design our life more than us. We have the remote control of our lives. We are the compass of our lives; we are the rudder of our lives. But it’s sad to note that sometimes, we give up on our most precious asset – choice. We all have the power to decide the music and tone of our life and not the one the world plays for us. When you refuse to live your life, you are inadvertently giving other people the opportunity to live your life for you.
Do you wish to know how powerful a remote control can be? A remote control plays many roles, it changes the channel of a television, it controls the volume, it pauses the music, it can rewind and fast-forward. It can even record. A remote control literally plays the role you assign to it, all it requests from you is to make sure it has a functional battery. Let’s juxtapose the remote with our life. Sometimes, we put our life on hold due to setbacks and life challenges. Do you know that nobody likes to associate with people who give excuses, people who are poor, people who have little or no value to offer, etc. No matter what your storyline is, please stand up, dust yourself up and move on. Trust me, nobody cares about your drama.
We all have experienced those hurtful, frustrating, offensive, manipulative people in our lives, and we have the control to change the channel to something else. Question: Are you willing to use your remote (brain) to focus on proactive ideas?
How can you remote-control your life?
Learn to change the channel by looking at the good things of life, quit looking at the pains you felt, change the channel to joy by remembering the good things that happened to you.
Forgive Yourself and Forgive Others
As human beings, it’s normal to always remember the harm that was done to you as opposed to the gains. There was a story of two friends (Mr. A & B) who were travelling. They had a misunderstanding along the way, Mr. A slapped Mr. B, Mr. B wrote it on the sand; Mr. A slapped me. As they approached a river, Mr. A crossed the river, but Mr. B was a having a difficult time and was losing balance, Mr. A quickly assisted him and when they got to the shore, Mr. B wrote on the rock, Mr. A saved my life. Mr. A asked Mr. B why he wrote on the sand when he was slapped, and when he helped him cross the river, he wrote on the rock, Mr. A replied, when someone hurt you, write it on the sand because the water will wash it away , but when someone does you a favour, write it on the rock or in your heart where you won’t forget it.
Be Grateful
As humans, we always fall into the habit of reliving sad memories instead of good memories. We fail to understand that emotions hold us back, especially when we look back. Instead of having those sad memories how about you remembering all the miracles you experienced and the difficulties you overcame. For example, when you had no money, when you had no job, when you were lonely and desolate, when you were sick or received a bad medical report, which God healed you of, when you were saved from a terrible accident, when you had a baby despite several miscarriage etc. Moral: Quit having a memorial event in your mind and celebrate each victory and make it a memorial anniversary by telling your children the stories of God’s goodness.
Guard Your Space
As the owner of your remote, you can decide who comes into your space. Decide what behaviors and lifestyle you can accommodate. By so doing, you are remote controlling your life to the channel you wish to see. This helps to give you sanity of mind.
Boundaries are not set with the intention of changing other people. They may change how people interact with you, but they are more about enforcing your needs than attempting to change the general behavior and attitude of others. To make these boundaries work for you, you need to understand your needs and what you are looking at changing.
In conclusion, imagine your brain as the remote control of your life. What do you store in your brain, and what channel are you willing to watch?
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a mindset coach and transformational coach. 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
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the just concluded Ondo State governorship election, held on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
The Returning Officer for the election Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State declared Aiyedatiwa winner of the election on Sunday, extending the governor’s stay at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure.
Governor Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival and a former deputy governor of the state Ajayi Agboola who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag. He scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than the APC candidate.
“That Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of the APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” the returning officer said at exactly 2:30 pm at the INEC collation centre in Akure.
The declaration came hours after the collation of results for the election began in the early hours of Sunday. Although the collation centre went on breaks, the APC took a commanding lead with over 200,000 votes ahead of the PDP.
The final results showed that the APC won the election in a landslide, clearing all 18 local government areas.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There is no gainsaying the fact that everyone desirous of making impact in life must live a life of purpose. This is where knowledge and information come to play. It is these knowledge and information that will set an individual apart from his contemporaries.
I strongly believe, if one is not informed, they are ill-informed, and when they are ill-informed, they can’t perform well in any given endeavour. This is because information leads to reformation and transformation. We can therefore, confidently say that information leads to formation because everyone is a product of what they know.
Knowledge acquisition is one of the best things that can happen to anyone. People with knowledge are revered, and highly respected. Having knowledge is like having money. People from all walks of life will seek you.
There are different kinds of knowledge, and they include Revealed Knowledge, which comes from those who wrote the Bible and Intuitive Knowledge, which comes from the mind. It is the ability to gain knowledge without conscious reason or explanation.
Others are Empirical Knowledge, which is information gained through observation, experimentation, and direct experience, rather than through theoretical reason or intuition; Authoritative Knowledge, which is the knowledge a man has because of his expertise in a particular field; and finally but not the least, Rational Knowledge, which is a form of knowledge that uses reasoning and philosophy to understand the world.
From this illustration, a decisive mind can see that knowledge is priceless. Knowledge is like education. It can provide security and access. Even the Book of life says in Proverbs 4:13, “your education is your life, guard it very well”; and in Hosea 4:6 that “my people perish for lack of knowledge”.
From my personal experience in life, apart from death, one of the greatest levelers of all time is education. This is because the child of a certified pauper can become a man of means tomorrow if properly educated. That explains why children from humble backgrounds ought to take their education very seriously, especially if they don’t have affluence.
On a personal note, I come from a very humble background, my late parents didn’t have the opportunity of acquiring a decent education, but they knew the value of education and endeavored to give me and my siblings a decent education. In retrospect, when I look back and see some of my contemporaries whose parents couldn’t give them a decent education, I bless my late parents because education has exposed me to lots of opportunities in the United States, and the global world in addition to granting me an audience with the high and mighty in society.
Sometimes, when I look at my modest achievement, I’m deeply humbled because I know it is the grace of God. Who am I to author two amazing trailblazers’ books, get featured and profiled by the New York Times, engage in high level conversation with leaders of thought and captains of industries. Apart from the grace of God, intentional seeking of knowledge, and wise counsel from mentors and strategically positioning myself have been some of the cornerstone to my success.
Imagine if my late parents didn’t give me a decent education and opportunity of travelling to the United States, most of these opportunities and exposure wouldn’t have been readily available.
When one is decently enlightened, educated and informed about life, their level of reasoning and understanding differ from an ordinary man. If one desires to go far in life, one must seek knowledge.
It is your knowledge that sets you apart from others.
According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, an accomplished Ghostwriter, “If you are a man of great knowledge, people will have great respect for you. If you are a man of great wisdom, people will have great reverence for you. And if you are a man of both, great knowledge and great wisdom, you will be the most eminent of men. But in real terms, people don’t care how much you know, or how much wisdom you have, unless they know how much you care.”
The moral of this quote is that despite the knowledge and information at one’s disposal, if one lacks empathy, their knowledge, experience and whatever they have mean nothing.
The importance of knowledge cannot be overemphasized. In our contemporary society, a fast way of attracting opportunities is by showcasing the knowledge at one’s disposal. It is so sad that many people don’t take time to read, research and learn new trends applicable in their industry, and in the world generally and as such, they find it difficult to fit in and grow.
It is instructive to note that when you seek knowledge, opportunities will seek for you. A major reason people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems and to solve problems, one ought to have understanding. Do you know that if you don’t have money, the reason is often because you are not solving a problem, or you are not solving enough problems, or you are not solving the right problem or you are not solving problems for the right people. Generally, we make money because we have something unique to offer to the world. Therefore, to solve problems, one must have knowledge and information.
We currently live in an age of technological, where skills, talent and creativity are in high demand. Any progressive being that desires to go far must be intentional in seeking knowledge. Successful acquisition of knowledge, information and understanding can lead to discernment and wisdom.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, if you want to make an impact, seek opportunities, and earn more money, do yourself a favour by endeavoring to seek knowledge, wisdom, and information. You can’t get these by sitting on your sofa or staying in your comfort zone.
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
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Daniel Bwala as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications (State House).
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, announced this in a statement, on Thursday.
A former aide of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Bwala worked actively for his former principal who lost to Tinubu.
However, after the elections, he worked his way into the camp of Tinubu, sparking controversy.
Onanuga also announced the appointments of three directors-general of various agencies.
They are:
(1) Mr. Olawale Olopade — Director-General, National Sports Commission
(2) Dr. Abisoye Fagade — Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism
(3) Dr. Adebowale Adedokun — Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement
Olopade, the new Director-General of the National Sports Commission, is a sports administrator with many years of experience in the sector.
He served as commissioner of youth and sports in Ogun state and was chairman of the local organising committee of the 2024 National Sports Festival.
The new Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Dr. Abisoye Fagade is a marketing communication professional. He is the founder and managing director of Sodium Brand Solutions.
Adedokun, the new helmsman of the Bureau of Public Procurement, was the director of Research/Training and Strategic Planning at the bureau before his appointment.
Daily Trust
