I remember that point in my life when I was in search of myself; it
was about the time I was going to be lost in the new exuberant life of
college. At that time, I knew I couldn’t continue to live the way I was
living; so deeply from within, I wanted more out of life and I yearned
for personal development. It was at this point I met friends and mentors
who ‘set me up’ along conduit of incessant personal discovery and
awareness of where I was headed in life.
Among the few
things that formed the foundation of what shaped my life was joining a
network of friends, CAAVAC Circle of Friends. I was taught how to save,
read, study, learn, and seek the ultimate relationship. I was also
taught how to set goals for myself- thanks to that great organization
that made this possible- (CCOF); a team of people who believes in
rendering knowledge impacting services to themselves and the world
around.
I was taught that my external realities would always run to meet my
internal veracity; and that goal setting is a potent psychological tool
in positioning my mind for a desired future. I soon realized that
setting goals was not as important as achieving them. So I tried and
keep trying to achieve my continuously elaborate goals.
The
satire of this, however, is the fact that for everyone who always set
goals, we soon get to our goals only to realize that there is something
more; and then we set higher goals again and again all in search of
fulfillment. Most times, especially when we are diligent, our goal
stretches us, and maybe breaks us; our mind expands while we dare the
impossible; we unlearn old things to learn new ones; we cry a few times
but we learn to sacrifice; at the end, we are nurtured. This is the
point where we experience the most rewarding joy in the journey: that
something changes in us.
An old adage says ‘no matter how
tall your father was, you still have to do your own growing to do’…this
is simply because the joy and the fun in life is not necessarily in
the heights we attain nor the depth we explore, but in the process of
growth that got us there. Little wonder why those who take short cut
always return to their starting point because what keeps us at our
destiny is the strength you gathered while trying to get there.
I
dare say, with all sense of obligation, that ‘whosoever has taught you
how to set goals and achieve them, has taught you what it takes to
grow.’ Many thanks to those God used to mentor and teach me in life; you
are my idol and I celebrate you all.
This piece is
dedicated to Akinola Babatunde, President/Founder of CCOF; and all
members of this great network that provided me with a platform where I
am free to make mistakes and learn for life.
To download the PDF format of this article, visit: http://www.slideshare.net/SolaOwonikoko/the-joy-in-the-process
