Be the change you want to see

We often complain about everything that’s going wrong in our lives, neighbourhoods, even the world. If we are all going to gather and complain, eventually we’re going to start pointing fingers and that’s where the blame is going to start. When we start blaming each other, we will be inviting conflicts into our midst.

Who is going to want to be on the wrong side? Who is going to want to carry the load on their shoulders, for something that we did as a collective whole? So in order for the complaining to stop, in order for the wars and hatred to stop, we need to take initiative.

If you see a piece of paper on the floor, pick it up. Rather than complaining about how that person is a slump, you’re not picking it up, it clearly shows that you’re just a pig like the person who threw the paper on the floor. The honourable Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

They only made one of your kind

Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Don’t focus on the features that mess with your self-esteem. Let’s say, for instance, someone once gave you a compliment saying you have beautiful eyes. Look at those eyes, and their prettiness. If you are constantly being pessimistic about how you look, or how your voice sounds, forever looking at the bad, just know that you will never be confident enough, ever, until you accept and love yourself just the way you are.

Never try to fit in, trying to please other people is suffocating, honestly. Birds of a feather flock together, that is why you will never find an eagle eating bread crumbs with doves. It’s OK to be different, normal is boring. Imagine if everybody were to wear a uniform for the rest of our lives, that would be boring right and tiring. This goes also for you constantly feeling bad that you have a stutter or a big forehead.

Learn to look at yourself with the sunny side up. You are perfect just the way you are.

Love yourself, accept yourself, and take care of yourself. You are beautiful.

Thoughts become things, think good ones

Do you know about something called the law of attraction? Whatever you think, you attract. When you throw a ball at the wall, it bounces back to you. Simply meaning that you are going to reap what you sow. You can never plant potatoes and get tomatoes.

The universe is forever in motion, rotating like a wheel; if you put bubblegum on the part of the wheel, it’s ultimately going to come back to you. The law of karma says what you think is what you attract, so think good thoughts because they become things.

Plant a seed

Plant a seed on your journey of life. Planting a seed doesn’t only mean garden seeds. Leave a mark wherever you go, be it of love, friendship, or education. Plant a seed. The world would be better if we could go green.

Read between the lines

The looks on people’s faces say a lot. There’s this thing about emotion you can never hide, no matter how hard you try. If you’re feeling sad or overwhelmed, your eyes begin to be teary, your face looks tired or drained.

Let’s take, for instance, if someone tells a joke and it cracks you up. No matter how hard you try to hold, you’re going to laugh. Learn to read between the lines. How people act or behave around you says a lot about how they feel about you. Words can cross the Nile river, actions speak volumes. Another thing is be attentive to what people say when they are angry. That’s how they actually feel.

Be a tree

Learn to know the roles people play in your life and the durations they are bound to serve. A tree knows that every season it’s going to have new leaves, so it doesn’t worry when it loses its leaves because it knows it’s just seasonal. You should also know that people will enter your life that will only stay for a season.

When the leaves are all gone, a tree is left with its branches and trunk, but they also can’t stay with the tree when it’s time for a storm, the branches are going to break. One thing a tree knows is that its roots will forever be with it.

Be anchored

Do you know what an anchor does? It holds the boat steadfast to the harbour when the sailor comes to land. In life, you have to find something worth dying for, if you don’t find something worth living for. Be rooted in something that drives you to your optimum excellence.

Learn how to communicate

Often people say that listening is key, which is wrong. You can listen all you want and still utter the wrong context. Understanding is vital, because we listen to respond and not to understand what has been said. That is why when we are asked questions, we fail to answer. Good communication skills can get you ahead in life.

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