The Season - 2016 is Your Appointed Time of Harvest

Just one day to go until we enter into a brand new year, 2016, and believe me, a new dawn is coming in our lives. It is a period of harvest, and like a farmer, who sowed seeds on a fertile ground, a time will come when he or she will begin harvesting. This is the season we all want to experience.

It is a time of joy, and also a time to take stock of our individual accomplishments, those things we have put in place that are yet to yield fruits, and others we have unfortunately missed out on. In so doing, you either result to regrets or feel a sense of exhilaration at the what is, what may have been, and what lies deep in the horizon.

Besides all of these feelings and emotional ramblings which often overwhelms the mind, there's one thing that you must take into cognizance at all times, and this is to with TIME or SEASON.'

As they say, "everything has a season." This is so true, and it is one that rings true even in my personal and professional life, as well. 

A perfect quote which summarises the subject matter was written by Henry Cloud, who said that, "Everything has seasons and we have to be able to recognise when something's time has passed, and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires a pruning as well, which is a great metaphor for endings."

 

What are you going through this minute? Are things going the way you plan them or perhaps, you have implemented a dream of yours that seems not to be going the way you planned? Are you expecting a breakthrough in your life, and wonder if it is ever going to materialise? You see, often we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations in life, and consequently, we feel a sense of discombobulation, delusion and disenfranchisement. But, what if I tell you that this is a normal transition in our learning in life's voyage.

Transitions are difficult and testing times. It is is a period that separates the men (or women) from the boys (or girls), and one which demands only the matured and resilient at heart. Put, simply, there is a season for everything. When your season comes, it will become apparent, and magical. All the pieces of the puzzle will begin to fall into place without much effort from you. This is a period to relish, because, in the same manner that it came, it can easily dissipate into the thin air. Today, it is here, tomorrow, it is gone.

How to sustain your season?

Let's take the case of the former heavy weight boxing champion of the world, Iron Mike Tyson. In his prime he was unstoppable. In fact, in many encounters with numerous formidable opponents, he decimated them all. I'm sure during that period, if he had been told that he would lose to an opponent in the person of Lennox Lewis and the likes, he wouldn't have believed it and simply shrugged it off. As you can understand, that was his time or should I say, his season of monumental achievements and rightly so, things were happening as a confirmation.

The question in our minds would be, if he indeed was able to sustain that season? I think he did, for as long as it lasted. At the age of 20 he became the youngest heavy weight boxing champion of the world against Trevor Berbick, on November 1986. However, after many issues relating to his life and personal conducts he lost both substantial amounts of money and numerous fights. In a nutshell, he was unable to sustain his season when the harvest was unquestionably plentiful.

To sustain a season, one must be focused, diligent, determined, and above all, prayerful. One minute, it is your season, the next minute, it disappears and you start to question or try to retrace the issues and wonder if you could have done something to remediate the situation that has led to you losing out on that very moment.

No sane mind plan to fail, but, we must all do the needful to keep our dreams alive and strategise to take those aspirations to the next level, so to ignite the next mind that will revolutionise your idea(s).

The year 2016 can be your season, if you will it and put it in prayer. There is nothing our CREATOR cannot do. I prayer for more fruitful seasons to come in your life, as you work and put your thoughts together and keep improving and imbibe the culture of working SMART.

I am not a believer in the saying that, "All fingers are not equal."

We can all be wealthy.

We can all be geniuses.

We can all impact the world with our gifts and talents.

We were all born to shine.

We were all born to lead.

We were all born to multiply and dominate.

We were not born to be subdued and live in perpetual enslavement.

We were all purposely and beautifully created without limits to our destinies.

So, stop thinking so low of yourselves and prepare for your season NOW.

Have a wonderful and prosperous 2016 and beyond.

(c) Dr Dickson Aleroh 

Damned If You Do, Fail If You Don't

Too many times, so many brilliant ideas would pop up to mind, and I think gosh!!! That's a fantastic one, I think I will invest more time to explore them further, and wait for the outcome. However, most times, I never get to it, and I ask myself, what if I did look more closely into those seemingly game-changing ideas whenever they come to mind, and take them a step further? You see, as humans, we are perpetually enslaved by the common fear of the 'unknown.' And until we take that risky leap of faith and dive into the deep end, we will never unveil what secrets lies beneath (that is, the UNKNOWN). 

As a young PhD student, I often device some pretty crazy ideas, which I use a subject in conversations with my colleagues. On a given day, I asked one of my colleagues a question, and it was to do with the air we breathe in. I said that I would love to own a company whose primary activity was to engage in the isolation and sale of fresh air in sealed bottles. To make the idea sound even more outlandish, I stated that I would also like to have a monopoly on the air we breathe in and seek for a global licence to do it. Immediately, he turned around with a hugely perplexing look on his face, and said, you are one crazy dude. I responded that it was feasible and not something that could be assigned to the pages of a fictional book. 

The truth of the matter is that, I truly believed in my idea, but, maybe not to the extent of owning a monopoly on our air intake. Today, I was astonished to discover that a company in Canada had just sold out on their caned air to the government of China, due to the unbearable level of pollution currently being experienced in the country. Then, it suddenly dawned on me that this company could have been mine, if only I had put my crazy idea into motion at the time. That way, I would have avoided any regrets in the end.

Is there something you would like to do in 2016? Perhaps, you have an idea that's just seating in your mind waiting to be explored? Today, I am encouraging you to go for it. Where you are today is as a result of either your actions or inactions of yesterday. Why leave what you can do today until tomorrow and allow 'Mr Procrastination,' to deprive you of the adventure and joy of discovering what is on the other side? You see, there's is no harm in trying. What do you have to lose? After all, you are damned if you do or fail if you don't. 

(c) Dr Dickson Aleroh

CHANGING POSES

Look around you, at your place of work, on the high street near you, on your favourite social media. What do you see? I'll tell you what I often observe. I see people putting on their best appearance and mannerism for all to see, because, we are all weary of the judgement of others, either you want to believe it or not. Now, what if I tell you that this human behaviour can be ascribed to an innate need within us all. You see, the human mind is wholly unpredictable, hence, the constant need to want to change. One moment, we are doing one thing and the next minute, we are doing something entirely different. This is completely normal, and the need I alluded to earlier is for the betterment of our current state or an aspect of our lives that seems to be going pear-shaped.

This is the essence of the topic 'Changing Poses.' How many times have you devised an idea that seemed like a game-changer? And in exhilaration, you screamed yay!!! I've got it! I've got it!!! That's it. Then, as time passes by, when you've had more time to gather your thoughts, and ponder on it in detail, you begin to see some grey areas that suddenly puts you off taking the original idea to the next level of implementation. Then you thought, nah, it won't work, not this time around or I don't have the resources to accomplish the envisaged level of investment.

So, you go about your day job until the next big idea creeps up, and causes you to change gear. Once again, you find yourself doing the same analysis as in previous cases. This happens over and over again, causing you to change over and over again. This is what I call, 'the many stripes of self-discovery for a better you.'

Many a times, I have devised and embarked on a few business ventures, and as you may agree, it is not all ideas that will often transform into that big earner for you or bring about the break you vie for. In fact, I have become accustomed to exploring more of my ideas than ever, even if none of them yield any success at first. But, this you will never know until you try. You will never find yourself that place of fulfilment and financial freedom if you don't take risks and make mistakes. The later may be costly at first, but, in the long run, after the pain has waned you will discover that it is just a normal part of the journey to success, whatever it means to you.

So, as you can see, changing poses is not bad after all. I want to encourage you not to give up trying and putting forward your best for the world to admire and learn from. After all, no experience is ever wasted.

© Dr Dickson Aleroh

THE PILLOWCASE EFFECT

This morning I woke up, and each time I do, something always comes to mind. I notice that the pillow is the first item on the bed that I am often drawn to, even before I get off the bed. Today, as I began tucking the pillow into the cotton case, I started thinking of what often happens to many dreamers and people with aspirations, today.       

How many times have you thought of a brilliant idea with such invigorating passion and excitement, then the next minute your attention is discombobulated by some unrelated activity. In so doing, you discover that your original idea get swept under the carpet by 'mister procrastination and misses I can't be bothered.' This is 'the Pillowcase Effect,' and we all suffer from it, including, myself.

Many a times, I come up with something brilliant, the next minute, I get distracted, and such distraction I discover weakens the intensity of the excitement one feels when the original thought dissipates. This is normal, but, should it be? Don't tuck your dreams, aspirations and ideas into the pillowcase, no matter what circumstances you are presented with.

The Reason for Falling Prey to the Pillowcase Effect

Now, I ask, why do people assume such regressive mentality when it pertains to pushing forward their own ideas? You many have your reasons, as we all do. But, dare I say that, you can do better than that." A place of comfort is a false state that will not only limit you, but, kill your ability to harness your mental prowess towards creative thinking."

Most of us are comfortable working for others and building their dreams, because, it brings us a sense of satisfaction and security. We often ask ourselves, where is the money to pay for housing, mortgage, phone bill, energy bill, feeding or what have you, going to come from, if I leave my current job and pursue my own venture? Where would I get the start-up capital from? I can go on. The truth of the matter is that, people with such rigid way of thinking will always keep complaining about their apparent  lack of fulfilment, financial freedom and happiness, because, they refuse to do the necessary, which I must confess, is not easy at all..  

Tucking your ideas into the pillowcase may seem convenient, but not without risk as you may think. Have you thought about what happens if you are suddenly made redundant at your place of work? Or become too ill to work? You are immediately at a lose, whilst your employer maintains his or her advantageous position. Now, think of it this way, if you had spent some quality time building your own business alongside your day job, if any of the above happens, you won't be vulnerable or fall into a state of dichotomy.

So, the choice is yours. Invest in your dreams no matter the complexities that may arise or simply tuck them into the pillowcase, never to be seen again. "A word they say is enough for the wise."

© Dr Dickson Aleroh.