ThePro

Voyage and Compass: Tips and tricks to manage your progress

Lessons from the dynamics of a group of young professionals on a journey to their country's border communities.

The journey started in the early hours of a Thursday. Two people started the trip. Another joined, while the last person was already waiting at a bus stop. The first was Ochei, an officer of the country’s immigration force. With him on the wheel, we believe men in uniform cannot delay the trip. Sitting by his side is Sam, the man for the journey. He doubled as a fun driver. He handles the camera to ensure every memory was captured. He was controlling the driving (as if he is a better driver). Blessing was the DJ, giving us the best music in her archive. I was almost like a tour guard. I was opposing google Maps’ direction because it appears unrealistic at some points. We were making out to the country border for a family event.

Prior to the start of the voyage, I never knew that the team was a complete one. I can only say, I was the odd one, the reason being that, I have always exhibited quiet mien in a larger association we all belong. They were the best suit for me. I had no dull moments. We gist, laugh, sing and excite ourselves as we navigate to our destination.

It was one of my best trips ever if not the best of all. Every moment was exciting. Aside from this experience, we all worked together to make the journey successful. But we also depended on entities that were not part of the journey namely other road users, indigenous community members in communities we encountered, Google Corporation, and people in our final destination among others. Needless to say, is the fact that the vehicle we used was also an important resource. The lesson from the dynamics of the group is what I am sharing here.

Some of the people we met gladly offer assistance while others don’t demonstrate enough sympathy, at least on my measuring scale. Remember they aren’t prepared to give the assistance we got from them. Not to think of offering such at no cost but at their inconveniences to strangers.

If I perceived some others offer guides that were not what we needed (or permit me to say, the wrong information that probably misguided us) and may be prolonged our journey, it isn’t their fault because they couldn’t give us what they don’t have. All the same, we still got to our destination. We can’t but appreciate them cheerfully.

Like this important journey, life generally presents us with different ‘journeys’ – academic, professional, family, business, actual travel, political, etc. What is common to all, is the destination in focus. Although we know what we wanted (our destination), we may not a clear picture of how to get there, most especially the routes, resources and other demands. We will need a number of resources even those you are not familiar with, envisage or factor into your life’s journey. They will need to offer guidance and set us on the right part.

Focus on the essence of the journey and work towards the quality achievement of its goal. We cannot head towards another place and expect to find ourselves in our intended destination. In the same vein, you can’t achieve your results if you aren’t using the route that leads there. Focus on your goal. Do not get distracted. Ensure you have boarded the right vehicle if you’re not going in yours. Ask other commuters to be sure of the destination of the vehicle. I’m sure you know what this means.

Speed limit. We were not supposed to be too fast or slow. Our speed depended on our familiarity with the terrain and road network. We needed to reduce our speed when we got to terrain that do not look familiar because we need to find out the next route, bends, and landmarks. If we are too fast, we might miss the right road. In an attempt to redirect, more time would be spent. The journey to the future is like a marathon, if you run too fast, you may not have the energy in reserve to finish. You may end up settling for a shorter destination or return to your starting point. What a waste of resources.

The shortest distance is not always the shortest route, there can be a ‘traffic jam’ potholes, etc. I remember we were asked to use a route when returning back. As we enter the road, we noticed the road doesn’t look very good but we sacrifice comfort for shortness. We eventually found the road is not ‘motorable’ as we moved ahead. It wasn’t convenient. It was too late to make a U-turn. Make sure you get your fact right before choosing the best route to getting to your destination. It doesn’t mean the road will always be smooth but there is no crime if there is a better route based on metrics like comfort, ease of navigation, security, and other opportunities not necessarily the shortness.

Provide help to those who are not part of the journey. We needed to take delivery of an item for a friend in one of the cities on our way. Like people that offered some assistance on our journey, we must also be ready to help others. A business cannot succeed without the right environment provided by the host community. It must be involved in corporate social responsibility to reciprocate the enabling environment. Create time to advise young ones on their academics, career path, family life, and work-life balance as opportunities present themselves. ‘Sow what you reap’.

The condition of the vehicle determines the speed. The vehicle was not in perfect condition. This regulated our speed at some points. Your body keeps you in motion. If it stops working, your progress will be halted if not retarded. Your all-around health is important for any life endeavour. Treat your body well. Prepare it before the journey, observe its condition as you progress and get necessary treatment when it is not fit for activities.

What is the duration of the journey? Are you sure you aren’t missing your way? Knowing the estimated duration of the journey will prevent unnecessary expectations and anticipation. It will also help to track your progress. Determine the likely time it might take you to master that skill and what to expect as indicators of progress at different time intervals. Such knowledge will keep your expectations within the frame of your schedule.

As you make efforts to be at your best, you will be operating on the path to staying proactive, relevant and organised. Do share your experience in the comment section below.

Taking Responsibility – Lifetime Opportunity

Those things that hurt, instruct.
Benjamin Franklin

We are often confronted with making certain decisions. Some we ignore, others we don’t care about, most especially when we think we are not the only one involved and we feel the other people should be in the best position to act.

The consequences of not acting as expected are grave in nature. Counting the cost of failing to take responsibility is the first thing to think about when faced with such decision. That's the only drive to act.

Procrastination is even better because you do it, but the other one means you’re not interested in doing it or maybe you only acted when it is evident things have gone wrong.

Who will bear the consequence? You of course, whether it is you or another person that should get that thing done. I will tell why later.

How should you handle the situation?

Responsibility is the most important ability that a person can possess.
John C. Maxwell

Take responsibility for any unfavourable outcome whether you are directly or indirectly the cause. This is a lesson you must learn. That’s part of learning process for you. Take it joyfully. I say, joyfully. Put all your strength to prevent possible occurrence in the future. You have just learnt to do new thing. Even if you don’t have what it takes to make amendment, you can add that to the list of skills you must acquire so as to be able to take additional responsibilities in the future.

Your boss need not know whether you can do it or not. Allow him to assigned you to the task. He will be surprised you can give as much as that to the organization. It has gone on record that sometimes ago, Mr Nice did this. Gbam! You have the recommendation of your superior during the next promotion.

So you’re now afraid, right? what if I can’t do it? Find out how to do it. Perhaps, a colleague in your organization can do it, or maybe, you will need to consult another friend in another organization. What I’m saying is that, you must be ready. Keep improving your skill sets.

Don’t wait to be told to do it. Let it be that, they will ask you not to do it. But you have shown you’re not irresponsible. You feel you were sidelined in that wise. No, not at all! You have only shown to all that, you are available anytime. That’s what you gain – availability. Don’t be afraid to be available for a task because it will make you available for unexpected reward. That’s time, everyone will also be available to celebrate your accomplishment. Those that would have raised eyebrows would have seen enough evidence not too.

How do you gain courage to take responsibility?

It’s by taking the responsibility. How do you take responsibility? Plan ahead. How do you plan? Get additional skill relevant to your organization. How do you do that? Enrol for online classes, gain from your friend within or outside the organization, among others. Make dynamism your goal. Constantly emerge.

I have heard this said severally that, pests develop resistance to chemicals that are meant to destroy or prevent their invasion over time. Have you wondered how that happens? They get more familiar with it. They observe or perceive their environment. This must be the chemical that kill my friend. Quickly, it find an exist route, if possible give a signal to another friend approaching the territory. Danger ahead ! The cycle continues. Even the dying one can give signal to the one alive.

If you will not become irrelevant soon, you must observe you environment to know why some seniors or surbornates are no longer relevant and sent out of the organization.

Similarly, get to know why clients are no longer patronising your product or service. Do your findings in a little way. That’s a responsibility you must assume to win the game for your organization. If you must leave, you have something your new organisation will need to lead the market. They will be willing to pay, because its an experience they don’t have.

Think of missing those benefits.

You will blame yourself for the wasted years you’re not in the learning zone. That moment you become your own judge. It will be more painful because you have untapped potentials, and now, it almost time to left the labour market. Remember, organisations now prefer vibrant candidates to the outdated, unlearned and dry fish because it is unbendable.

So, next time you want to be show ‘I don’t care’ attitude, remember how much it will cost you – a lifetime opportunity.

Be ready to give something always whether you feel it is adequate or not.

Remember to share with those not on this platform while comments are also welcomed.

Risk Taking: Baby Steps

Taking risks is risky. Navigating through it is a difficult decision. Should you remain indecisive when you reach this junction? No, because indecision is riskier. So, what are you expected to do?

Take the baby steps!

Picture how you must have taken the first walking step as a toddler. You can relate to this, seeing those young children around you. It wasn’t easy at first. Just like most children, you had a phobia. How did you make your first attempt? Your guide held you in a position. She was about to leave you in a steady place, but you held on to her. An alternative is to hold on a table or chair which guides your steps. Can decision-making be that simple? Yes, it is.

Here is how.

To make a specific decision, follow the step you took when making a similar decision in the past. Better still, seek the guidance of someone with experience in the area.

What was your experience in the past? Should it affect the present risk decision? Yes! The emphasis is not to drain the energy for the current task based on past failures. Those failures and successes are lessons for the present. Learn not to make former mistakes while reinforcing admirable ingredients in your past activities.

Babies learn from their past mistakes. You should do the same. After getting hurt by the attractive fire, he dare not go for second trial until he is mature to play around it.

What was wrong in the past may be right in the present. You were not allowed to handle glass materials in the past due to lacking the stamina to hold a fragile material firmly in your hand, but you now do even with your eyes close. Nobody will stop you.

Footprints

How I Felt When a Military General Entourage Stopped to Greet Me

At first sight, I thought there was a security situation around the campus that warranted the visitation of a high ranking military officer (Got to know he is General Fakokunde) and his men to the area. I was already thinking of a means of identifying myself. Luckily, I have one.

But my supposition does not hold as I came close to the team. I noticed a senior faculty was in the entourage. At last, the faculty stopped them to introduce me. After some pleasantries, he introduced me as a colleague in the school after which he introduced the military officer as his brother who greeted me as if he knew me before. I was also quick to cheerfully say, “I can see the resemblance”. The man told me the reason for their visit, and we parted.

All these happened in few minutes, and all eyes at the school gate area were on us. I was very happy. When I get settled at my destination, I still recollected the scenario that played out and smiled at myself.

I tried checking out the reason for the introduction. At different times, I had provided assistant to the man or his project student in one way or the other, some of which may not be convenient at the time. I realise my relationship with people no matter their cadre or caucus pays at this moment.

In the course of doing this, I have met with challenge of belonging to a particular group, but I won’t and can’t be changed (some want to entice me to their group and be enemy to others). My light would rather shine faintly to everyone than brightly to few individuals.

Life is give and take. I have also learnt to reciprocate the favour receive from others (no matter how small) in a big way.

He made my day. Maybe the most memorable during that week. I felt on top of the world…memory will remain fresh.

Do make your thoughts known in the comments section and remember to share with someone.

Power of Tiny Progress

It takes courage to keep doing the same thing every time while waiting to get the right result. It does mean that you may not hit your goal every time, but at least, there is an improvement, which need not be massive.

Some Accolades

At this stage of your life, you can point to more than enough milestones. I mean positive or productive things you have accomplished if you can give yourself some positive assessments. They may appear insignificant when you started the process but the aftermath are some of the things you see or have contributed to the little you have achieved. I call them little because you may be among those that belief they are making little or no progress. This perception is what kept many people at the same point because they never see any good thing in what they have being doing. “I never do well”, you say to yourself. Your mind is tuned off from following through. It doesn’t matter if that is your story if you do something about your supposition.

Every Effort Counts

I will ask you few questions, and I expect them to produce little to big results. Have you been enrolled in a school system before? I mean basic, higher grade or secondary or tertiary. Or have you find yourself in a vocational system or maybe apprenticeship? Ok. How did you started learning? From writing big vocabulary or adding big figures together? I don’t think so.

If as a toddler you were aware of the stages you will need to pass before learning to read and write, you are not likely to be ready to pass through the process. But then, the process started with just being in a play group where you learn to play with some gadgets, maybe you also learn to sing, recite some ryhmes, among other things. At a later time, you were learning to hold your pen, do some scratch, or write at random. Then, drawing lines of different types and joining them together to form alphabets. You later started bringing letters together to generate words, and then forming sentences. That’s how you grow to reach the present level.

The steps seem trivial, but even nature and other phenomenon follow suit. When drops of water drop inside the bucket, an impatient folk cannot wait to see it full. When he eventually get distracted by other things to attend to, he got a result that left him with great amasement. The bucket is full. I know you must have experience this or the like, at one time or the other.

Necessities

Do you ever think about the number of years you spent at the basic school level? I am sure it doesn’t take you less than five years to learn to write very well. Each of the years have at least two terms. Each term or semesters might probably be in two parts between you have mid-break. After some periods of learning, your progresses were evaluated with tests aside class works and assignments before the terminal examinations. It is as breadth taking as that. Maybe you complained during the process, but you eventually finished.

You can relate that to making progress in your business, profession and other life’s endeavour. If you don’t give up soon and you’re as consistent as you were during those moments, you will surely see remarkable progress. It takes courage to keep doing the same thing every time while waiting to get the right result. It does mean that you may not hit your goal every time, but at least, there is an improvement, which need not be massive. From the repetitions come experience and then, mastery. That is why as a pupil in kingdagartin, you were asked to write the same letter or figure for several days before moving to the next.

Guiding principles

By drawing on the under listed principles, you will be able to make the best use of your tiny progresses.

Start small, and work from the known.
Stay guided at least to certain level, but every time. Someone somewhere must have passed the stage you are. Rely on his experience to stay relevant.

Remain focus. There are many side attractions while on the journey of life.

Each failure or setbacks you have are similar to those you experienced in your tests and examinations in school. If you do everything possible to pass and complete the program, you can do same now.

One thing at a time. Why will you try to learn two skills at the same time when in the past it has never worked for you.

Mastery of one and its aspects. You can diversify but be successful with the current before navigating to other things.

Reward yourself when you’re doing well at least you will get rewarded as the best if you are in school.

There is vacation in the school system, you can do same. Have some rest.

Maintain discipline, indulgence is a friend of setback, if at all you do not fail.
Document your tiny wins. They are sources of motivation.

Final note

If driving a car appears too big for you, then open the door today, enter the car tomorrow, place your hands and legs where they are supposed to be the following day. Put on the ignition another day. At the end of a week, you should be able move the car from it original position. You are making progress, you will see your progresses as you make progress.