Le Dynamique Professeur

One thing about creation is that somethings are just normal; FINAL. There is nothing you can do about them. I recently wrote a note on facebook where I shared about four things the bible says are normal and would never cease, come what may. They are: night and day, cold and heat, summer and winter, seed-time and harvest. These things are part of what makes life go on. They are what makes the world, world. There is nothing we can do about it. They are just normal. Whether you are rich or poor, old or young, learned or illiterate, short or tall, it matters not. From a deep reflection these past few weeks, I've come up with 3 things starting with the letter 'F' that are normal. The fact that you have not experienced any of them doesn't exempt you. Whenever they happen, its your response that matters. Come with me on this journey to the normal world.

Yes, it is normal for anyone to be scared. Oh, you just finished an interview and then your heart beats as though it'd come out of your chest, "what if I don't make it again this time?" You've been expecting a letter from the institution you applied to; it's yet to arrive and you've been feeling a little hypertensive about it as though the world is about to come to an end. Listen to me, its normal to be scared. That's part of being human. Your body contains cells that gets you nervous when necessary.

Listen to what Nelson Mandela has to say; "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

I am still thinking about a successful man on this planet that hasn't failed before. It is just one of those things you'd find on the pathway to success. I am sure you'd agree with me on this one. Everything you look in hindsight at the times you've failed, you'd discover there's something you needed to learn that if you didn't you'd probably not be safe where you are right now. Have you been defeated by an O-level/School/professional examination? Maybe you have been knocked out of a relationship that left you deeply hurt, piercing through your heart and soul. Peradventure you have been relegated to bankruptcy by the financial measures of the country you live in because your business just failed. Perhaps you have been conquered by seemingly long-lived infirmity that has lasted for so long in your family and life has become so hard to live. All these are normal. What you are going through is because of where you are going to. Someone said, "our life experiences are as a result of lessons we must learn". Though you fail, continue to sail.

Hear Winston Churchill paint the picture better on failure, "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."

You are able to stand, walk, run, jog today because you decided at age 1 and 2 not to give up even though you fell several times. You fell down, yet you got back up again. You probably broke a tooth while at it but guess what? it grew back. Here you are walking with your tooth fixed as an adult. Listen to me, just as it was normal then for you to fall before you could walk well, its still normal for you to fall now. Just make sure you are not contented with your fallen state. Shame your critiques, set the stage for your comeback. Get back up again.

Jon Bon Jovi says it like this, "Success is falling nine times and getting up ten."

Now let me tell you what would be abnormal. It'd be abnormal and stupid should you decide to give up in the face of your fears, failures and falls. It'd be a shame if you decide to let go of all because of a strange feeling that's related to your past experiences. Listen, it's only normal to fear, fail or fall because you are human. There are two sides to the three; when they knocks and when they're responded to. The former is when you first experience them while the latter is your attitude and disposition to the experience. The best response is to not give in. Say to yourself, "it is normal. My life must continue. I must make it. I must get to my destination. I am not a failure."

Thanks for reading. Hope you have been inspired?

- Le Dynamique Professeur

I have searched and searched

I've waited for too long

Enough is enough

I'd take it like that

Half bread is better than none

I'd settle for this half

The full bread seem beyond me

I'd take the half like that

Not once, not twice, more often than not many of us find relief in settling for less than we deserve. The truth is every human being, on the inside, knows very much well what he/she deserves. Its just like a student that has just completed an examination paper; usually, the student often know what to expect when the result is out. However, should a result undeserving presents itself, a element of surprise is inevitable. In my undergraduate days, after every examination paper, I'd take the question paper back to my room for a redo and self-assessment. This gives a clue on what to expect. Should I get anything less than what I think I deserved, I protest and ask my scripts rechecked. However, there are times when I decided to accept less than what I deserved; the result? a reduction C.G.P.A which is the ultimate destiny of the university journey.

Have a look at these quotes

“The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.” - Thomas Merton

“The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.” - Maureen Dowd

“If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.” - Vince Lombardi

To achieve purpose in life, you must first of all know what you deserve. Many of us lack the knowledge and understanding of what we actually deserve; as a result, whatever comes is what comes. The consequence of this is that several potentials have become waste in a rubbish bag. The grave daily welcomes mass of underutilized or untapped potentials because of men that have died just running the rat race. Men who have settled for the ordinary because they did not recognize that what they deserve is actually the extraordinary. If you do not want to be like these men, you'll have to decide not to settle for less. You'll have to decide not to take 'it' like that. 

At this point, I think I must make a distinction between contentment and settling for less. There are times we have to be contented with what we have or are given but settling for them as though they're what we truly deserve is what is wrong. The fact that you are starting small does not mean that's what you deserve. You must ultimately seek to develop yourself. Strife to maximize your potentials and not put a limit to what and who you can be in life. I'd leave you with the words of Anthony Robbins, 

Will you also, at this moment make that decision that'd change your life forever? Decide N.O.W never to settle for less than what and who you can be.