Yes, There Is Change! How Do You Intend To Take Advantage?

There is every reason for us Ghanaians to be grateful after a largely successful election. Sure thing is not everyone is in a jubilant mood, because a candidate you campaigned for, have faith in, and believe could better the lot of many Ghanaians was rejected by voters, for reasons you can never fully know or understand but conjecture. The energy invested, time commitments, late night strategic planning, the house-to-house campaigns, not forgetting the financial support you provided. Sorry if you are that person reading this. Like or loathe, time heals and you will be fine with time. For those whose candidates were triumphant, congratulations! In whichever category you belong, the president-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, assures that “…You have not elected me to serve one party, but to serve the entire nation…Whether you voted for me or not, I can promise you one thing. I will do my best to serve your interests, and put our country back on the path of progress and prosperity”. Words of hope indeed! How then are we preparing ourselves to take advantage of the opportunities that will present themselves? Three things are key: orientation of the mind, attitudinal change, and value addition.

I believe and you will agree with me that many of us need to re-orient our minds as a start if we are to take advantage of opportunities that will come our way. Let’s be positive and stay positive! You are your thoughts, so staying positive can only trigger the energy and drive needed to improve on your current situation. There’s no need worrying nor being skeptical about what the government will do. That is way too much work! Fact is, we gave them the opportunity to progress our country, so let’s allow them do their jobs. If they fail, we will vote them out the next time. Let’s constructively criticize government policies, plans, and programs, and engage them with civility when we have the chance. Together and, with such positive energy, we can exorcise the spirit of ‘these guys will not do anything different, they (governments) are all the same’. Even in stormy and difficult times, stay positive, for there is nothing more exhilarating than remaining positive and reaping great results. In fact, you spend too much time being negative than training the mind to focus on the right things in life. Your thought is powerful, so be positive because “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee” (Proverbs 23:7) says the good book. Let’s transmit the positive energy everywhere we find ourselves, and prepare the mind for success.

Now we have a positive outlook on life. We have positioned ourselves to exude the positives even in the worst possible situation, but if we do not change our poor attitudes we can’t make progress. Are you going to continue to be late for work yet be the first to leave your office? Do you still fancy littering around and emptying your garbage containers into open drains? Is cutting corners to achieve what you want still your stock in trade? Why do you want to take a brown envelope before you do what you are paid to do? I am not sure why you are incensed by these questions. You ask me what my business is pointing them out? Because I am concerned! I am impacted! Your deeds are retarding the growth of our beloved country, and I cannot be indifferent about them! With the right attitude, we are able to take advantage of opportunities, be successful, and become a guide to others. It’s that simple. You can’t sleep all day and expect your account balance to increase. Yes, miracles still do happen, but you are not short of success with the right attitude. Truth is, if we are not willing to change our attitudes, the CHANGE Ghana voted for will forever be an illusion. One change here, one change there, and we are good to go! Let’s begin reflecting on the negative attitudes and behaviours as a first step; explore proper alternatives to our actions; and begin to pursue these right ways of doing things.

Finally, we cannot be static and not improve ourselves. Without adding value to our lives, we will soon be obsolete and discarded. For those of us who loved our Nokia phones, particularly the Nokia 3310 (a very solid phone!), we could only hope and imagine that we will be purchasing newer versions with improved and better technology. But we have been disappointed, we hardly even hear of Nokia phones these days. We have been ushered into the era of Samsung and iPhone, for the simple reason that Nokia could not improve its technology to compete in the market. So you see, opportunities will present themselves, but if you stay the same, you will be out of the race before it starts. Let’s start improving in all facets of our lives. Let’s read a few more books than we have done previously. Let’s advance our marketing strategies as traders. Let’s increasingly make ourselves marketable in the work environment, so that when opportunities beacon, we will be prepared and ready to snatch them. Trust me, it is going to be more competitive than it used to be and we owe ourselves improvement. Mo ma y3n nom nsuo ntw3n )p3!

So, yes, change is here, but are you prepared to take advantage of it? Re-orienting our minds, changing our poor attitudes, and adding value to ourselves will surely go a long way in preparing us to make the most of the opportunities that this CHANGE promises to bring. The time is now!

Anderson Assuah
Natural Resources Institute,
University of Manitoba, Canada ([email protected]).