Youths should not give up

Bible in reference to Ecclesiastes 9:11, says, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all.”

This certifies the fact that we may not all be versed with equal ability, intellect and skill but opportunities are presented to us on an equal plain ground. It doesn’t matter who you are. At some point in your life you will come face to face with your opportunity.
What youths need is to position themselves right, have the right kind of relations, know what we can do and do it well. It is entirely up to individuals to stretch, discipline and apply themselves towards a desired outcome. It doesn’t matter how difficult or challenging the environment can be, youths should believe that they can make it. All my life I have wanted to be somebody.

I learnt from experience that the greater part of happiness or misery depends on an individual’s dispositions and not on circumstances. Youths cannot afford to give up, lose hope or crumble when in bad circumstances. If the next person can make it through, what stops youths from achieving the same objective? There is a major difference between losers and those who get titles, win battles, eat bread, have the riches and enjoy the favour. The difference is that some come from a strong will to persevere and achieve, and the others fail to commit themselves towards a desired objective.
In this season we are experiencing seemingly small opportunities and small profit margins. Chances of getting into business without funding are proving to be an impossible situation for youths.

All we can afford to venture into is small scale enterprise if at all we gather enough resources to start something. Just remember time and commitment has a way of turning the tables around. Youths should push and keep on; one day at a time, step by step because we fully are aware, giving up is not a viable option.

What we should fight to overcome is not really the so called big time achievements but the seemingly small challenges we face everyday such as unconstructive habits, poor mindsets, negative attitudes, lack of attention to detail, ignorance, bad relations etc.
Most times we look for failure in big things but actually where we need to exercise excellence and succeed it’s in the small things. In managing time, if we can take great care of our seconds, the hours will certainly take care of themselves and in our finances if we can account for our cents the dollars will account for themselves. This habit of paying attention to detail and winning seemingly small victories is what we need to adopt for life.

I once came across a scholar who said: “Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before”. The get rich quick schemes of this world have recently proved to be highly unreliable, unsustainable, destructive, deadly, resulting in huge loses and unbearable consequences.

Like the depicted stone cutter we have to train ourselves hard work, patience, specialisation, persistence, we have to get to a place where we understand how to focus on a goal until we achieve. It doesn’t matter how long it may take and under what circumstances, we have to exhibit the courage that the task demands because we have come to a realisation and an understanding that giving up in life is never a viable option.

Around the world economies are going through a recession, globally unemployment is rising, corporates are downsizing, interest rates and taxes are rising, banks are facing a liquidity crunch, austerity measures are being imposed on the society, education is becoming more expensive and life in general seems more unbearable.

The prospects of a brighter and more stable future are now hazy and hopes for a better tomorrow are scrawny. Even though these circumstances are the reality on the ground, we have to come to a place where we are acquainted with the fact that this is an artificial, manmade circumstance that cannot be allowed to hold your life ransom.

This state of affairs cannot be acceptable. We should always remember that as humans our power lies in our mind. We cannot allow doubt and negativity to cripple our minds, no matter how difficult our circumstances can become. History has proved that for every problem that has ever existed, man has gone to find the cure.

Even for the most complex of situations whose source is hard to identify, many have been gifted with the ability to overcome. In the world we live today we have had cures for sickness discovered, technological inventions introduced, better communication tools launched and advanced systems have been put in place for our daily consumption. This advancement shows that we are not limited.

We should stretch our minds, make better use of ourselves, strive and be committed to become part of the solution and not be the problem or think of ourselves as victims if we are to reach the next level.

Despite what we are going through now, we should see ourselves as we are, gifted in every respect and not succumb to limited vision, judgment and hearing.