Random African Thought Series…Misconceived Expressions

There were times in life that people used words to justify certain circumstances or misfortunes that happened. Words are very powerful and we should not underestimate their potency. There are certain words that we have used so frequently that we do not stop to look at the possibility of seeing them objectively. I was pondering over a few of those words and I realized they either fell short or had the power to resign people to their fates.

In my view these words need second viewing. I therefore choose to christen these group of words as "misconceptions". Today, let us consider a few of those words. The first set of words are "Good things come to those who wait". I do not have a problem with looking at these words from the religious point of view where "waiting" would mean to show some sort of commitment, devotion and spiritual activity like praying or fasting or exhibiting some sense of religious piety. My problem lies in the fact that we normally look at these set of words and use them to cover up our inefficiencies.

They tend to make us sit back and wait for "good" things to happen to or for us. It makes us resign our destinies to some sort of fate or rare occurrence or even sometimes divine intervention which is bound to happen. In my view, I think "Average things come to those who wait; good things come to those who try and the best things come to those who persevere". This is more like it. We sometimes do not have to "wait" for things to be done to us or for us, sometimes we need to get up and take action.

Action is the difference between
achievers and dreamers. The next time you hear anyone say these words, tell the person that it is a"misconception".

Our second set of words tend to be very popular and they are perfectly put together thus : "Appearances are deceptive". I think this set of words lack the clause "sometimes" because in my opinion, I think appearances are sometimes not deceptive but are truly what they are. Let me explain that it would do us more good than harm if we thought of it in this way: Some things and people will never change and what you see now would probably be what you would see in the next ten to even twenty years. Allow me to ask this rhetorical question: If it is true that "appearances are deceptive", how should we judge appearances? People normally judge a man on his first appearance so why take the risk of appearing unprepared? Life is not a magic show where you can play games with the minds of others and later come out to say it was all for show. First impressions always count so please next time you have the chance to appear anywhere, come out rocking it and make itcount.

Mistakes cannot be tolerated. You have just one shot to make your appearance count so endeavour to make it a lasting impression so the next time you hear this "trinity" of words spoken, tell them "it is a misconception, watch me tear it to pieces".

Our third and final set of misconceived words for today are "No one knows tomorrow".

This set of words are particularly dear to me because they reflect some amount of "aspiration". In my sole opinion, I think it is complacent to say the least to have such a state of mind. To me it belittles the idea of dreaming and hoping for a brighter future. Picture this, an intelligent young man who is in medical school will not pass out of school to become a lawyer. His "tomorrow" has already been defined by his present engagements.

I sometimes have the urge to think that these set of words seek to promote care-free living. By no means should we live freely without any cares! We should hope and dream because that is what makes the hopes of wishing for a brighter "tomorrow" worthwhile. When we do so, we will be able to even determine beyond how our "tomorrows" will look like, have a clear cut path to follow to reach our goals and quash the misconception that

"tomorrow is unknown".
We are the painters of our lives let us endeavour to make it a masterpiece or a priceless work of art after all is said and done. We are achievers. Let us make our days count.

More @ randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com