by Lanre Olagunju

Courage is the crystal clear indication that something is far more important than fear.

All of life’s good and ugly experiences are like tiny sand particles that eventually accumulate into a well-built castle. At the end, it would be evidently clear that all that ever happened along life’s trip, including some of the inadvertent ugly occurrences that naturally wouldn’t have gotten a space in our to-do-list, was needed for the actualization of our utmost dream. Some of this unpleasant experiences will be responsible for refining, some of the failures will be the reason to return to the drawing board to re-strategize and consult with deeper wisdom, hence, discovering more ways of how to do things, and in some other cases, how not to.

It is at such times that we are forced to dig deeper, try harder, and also discover gift we never knew we possessed. It’s at such times that our eyes of understanding are opened to the limitless streams of opportunities that lie fallow all around seeking to be potentiated. Moreover, God hides things by putting them all around us. The little and minor achievement here and there would be a pointer that gold lies somewhere ahead. The sum total of all we pass through is the building block to our breakthrough including the unpleasant experiences, especially if you don’t relent and throw in the towel. See how Steve Jobs explained it in his ever fresh and alive commencement speech in Stanford University: “It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith”.

Just as there are certain things that are beyond man’s ability and control. In like ways, there are numerous things that man is saddled with the sole responsibility to manage and tactically perfect how to control, such that those things we can’t control can eventually work for our benefits.

For instance, a farmer has no ability to control the weather. He can only predict when the rains will come. Yet he can’t ascertain, no matter how hard he tries. Not in present days of global climate change. But a wise farmer must make him himself available during the planting seasons, he’s got to be committed to that, else, the only thing he would have to harvest when others are harvesting will be the best of nothing.

Just like we can’t manage time in the real sense of it, but we have all it takes to ensure that we manage our daily plans so as to ensure that time brings the result we desire. Consequently, any forceful or dogged intention to control things that are absolutely beyond ones power is to give oneself freely to frustration.

It’s abundantly clear that life is all about chances and uncertainty, therefore the most rewarding thing is to follow ones heart and inner instinct. The decision to follow ones inner craving doesn’t necessarily have to be approved by others as we most times feel. The most important things is to check if there’s a very positive feeling about what you’re doing. The love of what you’re doing is what gives the push to carry on when it’s not out-rightly clear what kind of result it would yield.

It’s of great importance that you trust that the series of past and present events will somehow, someday, connect in your future. Everyone trusts in something! But it’s of great advantage that you trust in yourself, your gut and your inner ability and stuffs that your heart describes as meaningful. The study of weather makes it clear that to make weather forecast or prediction, the previous weather data of years back would be a major prerequisite. Hence, it’s worth noting that though life has a fair share of uncertainty, yet, to a considerable extend, things don’t just happen. If we take time to check, (though we must times don’t) we would realize that things have a way of connecting.

Life is short, so in that regards, you will agree that it’s absolutely pointless to waste it living on the results of other people’s thoughts and opinion. It’s a waste. A colossal waste! Finding ones voice is a major task that requires so much discoveries that must be done. To avoid the noise of the crowd burying ones inner voice will require a million watt size of courage.

Courage is needed to follow your heart and intuition. Courage is needed to question conventional wisdom, therefore putting their validity to test. To achieve goals that will help others and make a difference in our world, so much courage must be mustered. Courage and more courage would be needed ‘cos we would unavoidably, be faced with despair. Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre are of the opinion that courage isn’t the absence of despair, that courage is the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair. Courage is the foundation that underlies and gives reality to all other personal values. What is the essence of interest combined with passion without courage? See, with courage commitment is easier. People attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make day by day. Taking decisions require courage. It’s also been discovered that courageous people take more decisions than others, and they are better for it. Courage is the crystal clear indication that something is far more important than fear.

Many great achievers were not born with the greatness that they suddenly display. While they were busy preparing for the unknown task ahead, by trying their hands on many things and making errors repeatedly, unfortunately, no one saw them. If truly the end must count, it simply implies that each day must count, the decisions and actions of today must count, therefore, at the end the sum total of everything will count.

As the remaining days in 2012 gradually folds away, it is without that doubt that the remaining hours too will count ‘cos without them the heavily pregnant 2013 will remain in the future.

Happy holidays!

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Lanre Olagunju blogs at www.larigold.blogspot.com and tweeets from @Lanre_Olagunju

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.