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. 

Read also Power of tiny progress

It does not mean things will go the same way as it was in the past. Time has changed, and most factors must have changed to reflect the current dynamism. Change with those changes in the light of present realities.

Inquisitiveness and adventure seeking are in the mental dictionary of most children. They want to carry the heavy load, climb a height, play with razor blade or even drive a car. They can however, be discouraged from making such moves when there is a red flag or warning sign. Why will you attempt the adventure when the warning sign is visible? Change your decision.

Children always learn by imitating adults. They learn from both nature and nature (immediate and external environments). They learn from both good and bad things around them. It is left for parents, guidance or mentor to tame any unruly behaviour. You can apply this to other areas. A mentor should watch you grow and redirect you when you are losing focus. Such person won’t ask for a reward. Their reward is seeing you becoming a mentor like them because you have yielded to their guide over time.

Did you notice what your mummy do regularly? Look closely and start imitating. That’s standing on the shoulder of the giant. You will grow to become higher than them because you can see farther.

Check out Step out, We’re together

Thus, record keeping is a working skill for risk-taking. Keep track of what you see others doing. Do the same for what you are doing in the present. The purpose is to make your decisions based on facts. That’s how you grow to become a master. Growth is possible because you have accumulated experiences from which you draw wisdom for the present endeavours.

Stop crawling.

You can’t be happy with yourself. Taking a risk can be as simple as a baby taking walking steps. 

Can you recount your experience taking a risk in the past? Help others with those strategies that might help them in decision-making. Don’t hesitate to share the post if need be.

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.

Managing your limits

The best we can give is to give our best every time. It is not a comparison with what you offered in the past, but the best your present capacity could offer. Time changes, likewise conditions, so your best also changes with changing factors or conditions.

By thinking this way, you will save your energy from overburdening yourself with what you could not achieve after stretching yourself beyond the elastic limit to offer the present deliverable. Be positive, do not be intimidated by the achievement of others. When your capacity increases, you can compensate for what you cannot give in the past.

It does not mean you should cooperate with your tendency to be lazy or self-indulgent. In a clear sense, stretch yourself to the breaking point. (At least your mind is made up to break barriers and barricades), but know when it is obvious you cannot do more. At this point, you have the likelihood to start blaming yourself for not doing something to avert the present condition. Of course, you must take responsibility for your actions, but accepting your limit is not unacceptable.

When you identify your present limitation, do not use it to exaggerate the nearest future limitations. At least you have been equipped with information on how massive it can be. Resolve to find help where and when possible. Maybe, from colleagues, superiors, online self-help, mentorship programmes, training programs, etc. In all, self-mastery and development are keys to making progress over and beyond where you have been. You will be glad you did when you see yourself climbing past insurmountable barriers.

Take this with you. The tangible thing is how you have handled the past, focusing on the present, and preparing for the unexpected. Be wise and deliberate. Refuse to settle.

Power of Working from the Known

What you know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.

Job 13:2

When we all know the same thing, who wins? Whoever wins, winners should learn the lessons of winning, and losers should learn the lessons of losing.

In a world where everyone is interested in knowing, and the means of doing so is available (the world is now a global village), each entity must strive to be acquainted with what wins the game. Good training, ability to promote yourself, using the weakness of others or staying long enough under your leader. Whichever is a function of where you have been, where you are and where you set your mind to be in the future.

He who is just growing up should take the time to learn from his elders, and he who has grown up should be careful to learn from a fall. Find what is good for you, and create an environment for growth. It is good to learn from experience, but what if you have none. It is not a matter of not having experience because every journey you have made has at least an experience you can bring to your present endeavour.

We also learn from those ahead of us. As a student, you know the way to learn is by arriving at class early. Don’t you think that can work in your new work environment? When you get to work early before actual time work commences, you have time to settle down, ruminant on what you are doing presently and see how to navigate through the strategies with which to work. You can win an award for punctuality, which should drive you to perform other duties better. In business, you might have the privilege of being a market leader with your early arriving product in the marketplace.

I know you know now. Get what you need presently from what you already have. That’s all. However, introduce a new dimension no matter how little, when it appears the old idea is outdated and could be visible to outsiders. I do not mean old ways of doing things do not work verbatim. Of course, they do. Just be conversant with what others are doing in the outside world and pursue a style that others could adopt just like they do to others – the way to be a leader.

I do not know I could write this long by just starting with the title. So what do I know? I know what others know but would not take the first step. It means to be aware of what you know, put the first step forward, and knowledge can be transformed to power to beat the best. I now know you know what I know now.

As you make efforts to be at your best, you will be operating on the path to staying proactive, relevant and organised.

As you make efforts to operate with what you know, you will be operating on the path of proactiveness. Do share your take and experience in the comment section below.