...continued from last postFriend, you must be ready to appraise your current state and get a clear picture of where you really are in the journey of life. Though embarking on this may be difficult a task to carry out and even the result may come out to be daunting, mind you this is a vital step in the journey to liberty and fulfillment. The great writer T. D. Jakes wrote; in order to move forward in life, you must acknowledge your pain and recognize your needs and tend to your suffering soul. That is you must abase yourself and get contented (but not satisfied) with the journey of your life and stop waiting for you to attain certain destination before real life commences. What I mean by this is that you must take total responsibility for the direction your life has taken and know you are the only one that has the power to change it.
In the same vein, you must also be willing and ready to know yourself at an intimate level that supersedes others opinions and approval. You have to look beyond your personality* to examine your thought and admit who you are. The importance of this is what T. D. Jakes identified when he said; “the unexamined life falls short of who we could be and what God has empowered us to do, and makes it a tragedy, a life wasted.” So for once life not to be worthless and his living not to be a waste he must intimately and ultimately know who he is to that level he will be comfortable with.
Of all the factors of history making; knowing who you are is the utmost – for it apprises you with what you are capable of; the specific service you are designed for where you are. Nonetheless, I know what it looks like to wrestle with the intricacy of who you are but for you to liberate yourself from that struggling position and retrieve your dream from the captivity of your weaknesses you must at this juncture prepare to engage in a simple but crucial exercise – “Self-Analysis Exercise.” Friend, if you are now thinking “how can I get to know who I am truly?” Here comes the answer.
Now! Get a plain sheet of paper on which you will make a character* list by listing without pride and self-delusion your strengths and weaknesses. You can do this by tabulation or any how you find it interesting. Your strengths are those positive attributes of yours; these may include loyalty, time consciousness, creativity, leadership skill, integrity, analytical skill, assiduity and so on. While your weaknesses may include unstable self-esteem, segregation, pride, narrow mindedness, lack of confident, procrastination, indecision, lustfulness, and the like. You can list as many as possible strengths and weaknesses you can think of. But remember you must be fair and objective with yourself in this exercise.
This is what heroes like those mentioned above have one time in their life done (Though methodology may be different but same is the exercise). So for you to be like them – these heroes, you need to apply similar tactics that fit.
Note: However, to make it easier for you even while you might not want anyone to see the list, you might still require the assistance of some trusted friends on their own to help you make a personality* list – listing your strengths and weaknesses as how much as they know you. Make them see while they should be objective and honest with their listing. Appraise these personality* lists with your character* list; what do you deduce?
This expedition shall halt at this port to allow you carry out this History-Making-in-Life Exercise. Meanwhile, at the end of the list try not to be ashamed or feel guilty of the listed weaknesses and rather should you be self-sufficient with your listed strengths. Who we are is much more complex than just a “positive” and “negative” list of characters*.
In the next voyage, our (http://thomasidowu.blogspot.com) expedition shall address and simplify the complexity of who we are and how the self-analysis list you have made can be used to inspire, birth, and raise the hero in you to stardom and record your name among men that history will live to remember shall also be discussed.
Thanks for your patience!
You’re a hero!
©Thomas Idowu!
